


For Better and For Worse

by blakefancier



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/M, Multi, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-16
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-22 20:48:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 29,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8300521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blakefancier/pseuds/blakefancier
Summary: Howard and Maria Stark died the night of December 16, 1991. But what if they hadn't? What if Howard had taken steps to make sure that he and Maria would survive whatever HYDRA threw at them? What would happen next? This is that story.AKA: the awful fic.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A big thank you to my betas: rustedqueen, shirokou, and anonehouse. I wouldn't have finished without their comments and prodding.

There was pain and panic and the taste of blood. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn't move. 

Maria!

Maria, Maria, Maria!

******

_"Code blue!"_

_"Jesus, what happened to his face?"_

_"How's he still alive?_

_"Don't know, but the boss wants him to stay that way."_

Pain and light and voices, so many voices. 

He tried to call out for Maria.

***** 

Cold. 

… 

Then nothing. 

***** 

There was a voice. Howard tried to ignore it, tried to sink back into the darkness that had held him for so long, but the voice kept calling to him. It was annoying, so damn annoying. He didn't want to listen to it, but it drew him in. It took some concentration, but he managed to decipher what the voice was saying. 

"Wake up, Howard. Come on, I know you're in there, wake up."

Howard frowned; he knew that voice. How did he know that voice? He forced his eyes open, and stared blearily at the man sitting across the table from him. 

"Hi, Howard." The man smiled.

Howard looked around, wincing slightly as his head throbbed under the bright fluorescent lights. Everything was so blindingly white: the walls, the floor, even the table in front of him was painted white. 

He was strapped to a white metal chair, which was probably the only reason he'd managed to stay sitting up; he felt so weak. The pounding in his head made him queasy, but he concentrated on the man in front of him. He knew this was important.

"Do you remember who I am?"

Did he? Howard frowned again in concentration. "Pierce," he said, the name coming to him, as if out of thin air.

"That's right," Pierce said, smiling. It was a charming smile, but something about it made Howard want to recoil.

He was missing something. He tried to remember what he was missing but his thought processes felt sluggish, like they were trying to swim though molasses. "Alexander Pierce." 

"Good. Things are slowly coming back to you." Pierce leaned back in his chair, the congenial smile still on his face. "I have to admit, I was a bit worried. You were still a mess when they put you in stasis. The doctors thought the brain damage might be permanent. But you did wonderful work with the serum."

Howard gasped as his head suddenly flooded with information, the pain behind his eyes spiking as things began to come together. Not everything, but enough. "Maria." 

"She's alive and safe. As long as you cooperate." 

"You! You, you, you… You're HYDRA." Howard strained against the straps holding him to the chair. The metal arms squealed softly as they buckled, but the straps didn't snap. God, he'd been right, SHIELD had been infiltrated. Peggy was in danger and she didn't even know it.

"Breaking that chair wouldn't be very cooperative, now would it?"

It was like someone dumped ice water on him. He gasped again and then slumped into the chair. There was nothing he could do; he was helpless, at least for now. 

"Good boy," Pierce said. "This doesn’t have to be awful for you and Maria, Howard. Give us what we want and I promise you'll be very comfortable. Would you like to see her? Maria."

"Yes." Howard felt off-center and he knew that he was missing something. That something was wrong, he just couldn't figure out what.

"The guards are going to release you. If you do anything to endanger me, my men have orders to shoot Maria in the head. Do you understand?"

Howard glared at him. "Yes."

Pierce nodded to the guards and they quickly undid the straps—were they vibranium weave? Where did they get vibranium? 

Howard carefully levered himself up and then caught himself on the table when his knees shook and threatened to give out. 

"Do you need help? We can get you a wheelchair?"

Howard ignored Pierce and forced himself upright. His legs shook but he concentrated on turning then moving one foot in front of the other. When he made it to the door, he grinned in triumph. He was sweaty and his whole body was shaking from weakness, but he'd made it. 

"You always did like to show off, Howard." Pierce touched the door handle; there was a beep then it clicked open. The guards flanked them as they slowly made their way down a long, nondescript hall to a door with a white line bisecting it. "She's been awake for about a week. She's been very eager to see you."

So he'd been unconscious for at least a week. 

Pierce opened the door and pushed him inside. Howard stumbled, but caught himself on the doorjamb. The room was similar to the one he'd woken up in, except there was a bed in the corner. Maria was standing in the middle of the room wearing a set of white scrubs. She was tense and she had a pair of knitting needles clenched in her hands. Howard wasn’t sure who'd been stupid enough to give her those; he could see her considering her options.

"Tony," Pierce said, and the tension bled from her body. 

Maria gave Pierce a dirty look, set the needles down and rushed to Howard's side, ignoring the guards who pointed their weapons at them. "Sweetheart, are you all right?" She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. 

He allowed himself a moment of weakness and leaned into her body. "I'm fine, Maria."

She pulled back to give him an incredulous look, then helped him to a chair. "I wasn't this weak."

"There was a lot less for the serum to fix." Pierce watched them both from across the room; it was a cold look that left Howard feeling uneasy. "The doctors say he'll be a hundred percent by the end of the week. "

"I'm fine," he said firmly.

"What's the square root of nine?" Pierce asked. 

Howard opened his mouth to reply and… and he realized that he didn't know. "It's… It's…" His chest tightened with fear and only Maria's tight grip on his shoulder kept him from losing his composure.

"You two have an hour to compare notes, then Howard has to go back to his room. Enjoy." 

Maria let out a deep breath when Pierce left the room, locking the door behind them. She nodded towards the ceiling. "They're watching us."

If anyone would know it would be Maria. He pushed aside the fear trying to claw its way out of his chest and said, "I'm missing something. I'm missing… What am I missing?"

"I think we've been asleep for awhile," she replied softly. "There's more gray in his hair, more wrinkles on his face. And the cut of his suit…" She shook her head. 

Pierce _was_ older; but by how much? He looked at Maria, trying to find the answer on her face, and was startled. She wasn't older, as a matter fact, she looked exceptionally good for a fifty-five year old woman. The wrinkles and crow's feet were still there, but the translucency age had given her skin was gone. Her hair was still silver, but it had a vibrancy he hadn't seen in years. He wondered what sort of musculature was hidden under those scrubs. 

"Howard," she said, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Why wake us now? Why not keep us asleep?" He wondered what he looked like. He stared down at his hands; the calluses were gone, as were the liver spots he'd tried not to think about. 

"Something must have happened." Maria crouched so that they were eye level. "A game changer, for them at least. Nothing's changed for us, sweetheart." 

When he'd told her that he'd recreated the serum and that he was afraid that HYDRA had reemerged as part of SHIELD, she had made him promise that he wouldn’t let them have it. No matter what they threatened, no matter what they did, they couldn’t have the formula. He had destroyed the notes; he should have destroyed the serum. 

"We'd be dead now if I hadn't injected us," he murmured. "We'd be dead and safe."

"Stop it," Maria grabbed him by the chin and gently shook him. "Ifs aren't going to help us now. Be strong. Starks are made of iron. Say it. "

"Starks are made of iron."

Maria kissed him gently on the mouth. "I love you, Mr. Stark."

"I love you, too, Mrs. Stark." He pressed his forehead to hers and hoped that Peggy was looking for them. 

***** 

After his visit with Maria, they took him to another room that was identical to hers, en suite bathroom and all. It reminded him of the war actually, except cleaner.

There weren't any mirrors, nothing he could break to use as a weapon. That was wise, he supposed. 

He stripped out of his clothes, white scrubs like Maria's, and ran his hands over his body. He hadn't had time to explore himself afterward. As soon as they'd recovered from the effects of the serum they'd run straight towards D.C., and Peggy. If anyone could help him figure things out, it was her. 

Howard pushed aside those thoughts and concentrated on the present. His body hadn't grown like Steve's, but then Steve had been a young man in the prime of his life. Still, Howard had lost the flab of old age. He had a wiry body now, like a runner. 

He didn’t bother redressing. He stumbled over to his bed and crawled under the covers. He was so damn tired. 

*****

Howard woke suddenly, his heart pounding, his breath coming in harsh pants. He was bathed in sweat and his head hurt so badly that his vision was blurry. He was sure that if he moved, he would throw up. He told himself it was just a nightmare, only a nightmare, but he wasn’t sure. 

He mentioned it to Maria during their weekly visit. 

"It was only a dream," she said. She was knitting a blanket because their rooms were cold and it kept her busy. 

"I don’t think it was. I think…" He rubbed his knuckles against his temple to ease the incessant pain. "I think it was a memory. I… I know who killed us. Who tried to kill us, anyway." 

"Who?"

"Sergeant Barnes," he said softly.

Maria looked up from her knitting. "Bucky Barnes? I thought he died in '44."

"He did. At least we thought he did. But what if…" Howard closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The pain in his head was making his vision blurry again. 

"Do you want me to ask for aspirin?"

"What good would it do?" The serum made any sort of pain medication ineffective. "Peggy and I looked, but we never found his body. When Steve… Captain Rogers rescued him from HYDRA, he'd been experimented on by Zola." 

"You think Zola managed to recreate the serum?" she asked. 

"Or a close enough approximation." He opened his eyes and most of the blurriness was gone. "Why would they need us?"

"Maybe it wasn’t close enough." Maria leaned over and touched his arm. "What's the square root of nine?"

Howard frowned in concentration. "Four point five?"

"No." She gave Howard a worried look then went back to her knitting. 

***** 

"You could shove that knitting needle into my brain," he said at another visit. 

"That won't help you remember the square root of nine, dear."

"Maria." Howard reached out but she pulled away with a sigh.

"Don’t talk like that or they'll take them away. Then where will we be? You know I hate the cold almost as much as I hate not having anything to do." 

***** 

They gave him an MRI every other day and he hated it. The first few times they had to strap him to the exam table.

"Don't move," the doctor said. "Don't make us do this the hard way."

Howard tried not to show any fear but it was always so hard to breathe in small spaces. They almost always had to do it the hard way. 

***** 

It was six weeks before the headaches stopped.

Six weeks before the MRI's came out looking normal. 

Six weeks before he remembered that the square root of nine was three. 

He didn't remember the formula. 

But no one believed him. 

***** 

"Do you really want us to hurt Maria, Howard?" Pierce asked in a curious voice and Howard glared at the monitor. Not that Pierce cared one damn whit. 

Howard remembered being invited to his daughter's birthday. They'd bought her a doll. The birthday cake had been chocolate. 

"No," he said, the anger and fear were so strong he thought he might choke on it. "I don’t remember. I don’t remember the formula. I don't remember a damn thing about it." Which wasn't quite true. He remembered a young black man with kind eyes. He remembered that the man's name was Isaiah. "If I could tell you, I would!"

"Oh, Howard." Pierce shook his head sadly. 

***** 

Pierce had Maria beaten.

"I want the formula for the super soldier serum, Howard," he said, tone congenial as always. He'd interrupted their lunch together, which was unusual. And he'd brought guards with him, which was worrying. 

"I told you, I don't remember how to make the formula." Howard rose to his feet, the back of his neck prickling with fear. 

"Hold," Pierce said and the muscles in Howard's body locked into place. "On your feet, my dear."

Maria's breath hitched and she rose to her feet, her movements jerky. 

"I don't believe you." Pierce touched Maria's face and she bared her teeth at him. "Your lovely wife is going to pay the price." Then before Howard could respond, Pierce backhanded her.

Howard let out a cry of protest and strained against the invisible bonds keeping him in place. 

Maria's mouth was bloody but she hadn't made a sound of pain. Her eyes were cold. "I'm going to kill you." 

"Oh, Maria." He hit her again, then took a step back. "Well, Howard?"

"I don't remember," Howard rasped out, struggling futilely against his traitorous body. 

Pierce nodded at the guards and—

"I don't remember, I don't remember, I don't remember," he screamed, over and over until rage and hopelessness left him speechless. The last time he'd felt this weak, this impotent, they'd had buried their first child. Stillborn, the doctors had said. Not their fault. "Why don't you just make us tell the truth?"

"And re-scramble that delicate little brain of yours?" Pierce smiled. "You could barely tie your shoes this morning. As for her, why would I bother? I know you didn't tell her anything important. She hasn't been anything more than a pretty face in a very long time." Pierce looked down at her and made a moue of disgust. "Not that she's much to look at now."

"I'm going to hold you down while she guts you," he said. "I'll laugh as she tears you apart, you sick son of a bitch!" 

"Hey," Pierce smiled. "I could have had her raped." 

For a moment Howard thought he was going to be sick. He couldn't… If that happened, if Pierce threatened… he couldn't. Maria might be strong enough to handle being tortured, but he wasn't. He wasn’t strong enough.

***** 

Pierce waved his hand. "You're free."

Howard's muscles were his again and he stumbled over to Maria, who was curled into a ball on the floor. He knelt by her side and gently touched her shoulder. Her face was misshapen; a mass of bruises and blood. He told himself to get up and snap Pierce's neck, but when he tried, his muscles seized up again. What the hell did HYDRA do to him? "She needs a doctor." 

"And I need that formula. Next time, I won't be so nice." 

Pierce left them like that, Howard choking on his rage and Maria, beaten, murmuring through bleeding, swollen lips that she was all right, that she was fine. Howard knew it wasn't true and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

"Let's get you up on the bed. Then I'll clean you up." 

She cried out when he lifted her up, but only once, and when he wiped the blood from her face with a strip off his shirt, he found he couldn't look her in the eyes. 

He'd never felt so ashamed.

"Don't," she said. "We agreed." 

"They beat you. He threatened—"

"I know what he threatened." Maria's words were sharp and he flinched. She sighed, then winced. "That doesn't matter. We have to be strong. You have to be my rock, Howard. I need you to be my rock." 

"I'm sorry," he whispered. He wanted to crumble and weep in her arms, but he wasn't made that way. He took a deep breath and pressed a kiss to her unbloodied knuckles. "We're going to get through this." 

"Yes."

***** 

"I'm done." Maria held out the blue blanket, smiling. The bruises and broken bones had healed days ago, and Howard tried not to think about how awful she'd looked then. "I made it for you."

The blanket was heavy and scratchy and he wouldn't use it, his room was always too damn warm, but he took it anyway. "I like the color. Everything else is so damn bland. Even the food's bland." They fed him chicken nuggets and french fries for lunch, like he was some damn child. Hell, the portions were barely enough for a child, too. 

Maria hummed. "Do you remember the first time we met?"

"The gym at SHIELD," he said, allowing her to change the subject. "You were working on your hand-to-hand combat with one of the instructors. Peggy told me if I touched you that she'd cut off my balls." 

"She told me to stay away from you, too. But I couldn’t help myself. You were so handsome, so… self-assured." She smiled and took his hands. "I never met anyone like you; you're one of a kind." 

"You flatter me." Howard rose to his feet and pulled her up with him. "Do you know what I remember? Our first date." He began to dance her around the room, humming softly under his breath. "That Italian restaurant with the overpriced manicotti and the amazing tiramisu."

"I ate all of mine and most of yours. And on our way home, it started to rain," she murmured. "I invited you upstairs for coffee."

"You did. I remember. Do you remember our second date?"

"When I taught you how to take down a man while your hands were tied behind your back?" She wasn't joking. Despite the strangeness, it had been a fun date. 

"Oh, right. Our third date." Howard pulled her to him and kissed her. He expected her to kiss back, but she stiffened and pushed him away. 

She settled back in her chair and smoothed her hair. "I think I'll ask for red yarn. Do you think they'll buy it for me?"

"Maria?" He stood where she left him, feeling unsure.

She stared down at her hands. "I started menstruating again."

"You—" Howard wasn't sure what to say to that. She'd started menopause early and he had been glad. Their fertility problems, the miscarriages, they had taken their toll on her.

"What if I get pregnant?" Maria whispered. "That's what they want."

And Howard had never felt so horrified in his life.

She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "So what do you think? Will they get me red yarn?"

He shuddered, then forced a smile on his face. "I don’t see why not." 

***** 

They weren't given access to newspapers or television, but it didn't mean they weren't able to gather intel. The guards talked and sometimes they would let something slip. 

"Some of the guards were talking about the World Series," Maria whispered, her lips barely moving; she kept her eyes on her knitting. "One of them said that there had been talk of canceling it because of some disaster. He was glad the league had changed their minds. He was betting on the Giants."

Howard brightened; the Giants? Jesus, when was the last time they'd won a World Series? 

"He said it was the 108th series." 

"He—" Howard closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "It's 2011," he whispered back, stunned by the information. Twenty goddamn years. They'd been asleep for… God. No one was coming for them. They'd probably been pronounced dead years go. 

Maria dropped her knitting needles and covered her mouth. She looked as stricken as he felt. "Tony's forty-one. Our baby is a grown man."

Howard clenched his hands. He wondered if Tony got married, if he had children, if… if he was happy. "My God, I'm ninety-three." 

She let out a slightly hysterical laugh, then she began to cry. Howard quickly went to her and held her tight. "It's all right," he murmured, stroking her hair. "We're going to see him again. We'll see him again." 

She cried harder and he knew she didn't believe him.

***** 

It was shortly after Maria finished her second blanket when Howard was pulled out of bed by two guards and marched into a part of the building he'd never been before. They opened a door and shoved him in.

He stumbled and caught himself on a table to keep from falling on his face. He cursed under his breath, but the words died quickly as he got a look at the room. A shiver ran down his spine at the setup of the lab; it was an exact replica of the one he had at home. 

"Like it?"

Howard jerked at the words and stared at Pierce, who he hadn't noticed before. "How?"

"We have our ways." Pierce smiled and ran his hand over the wood of the table. 

That's when Howard noticed a very familiar gouge in the wood.

"Tony was very eager to sell your equipment. I thought it might be just the thing to get you moving on the serum project." 

"I told you—" he started, but Pierce interrupted him.

"Put your right hand on the table, palm side up, please." 

Howard struggled to disobey, his teeth clenched so hard his jaw ached, but it was futile. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t disobey Pierce. And he tried; God, he tried.

"Howard, I know you think I'm nothing but a politician, the sort of man who won't get his hands dirty. No," he said in warning when Howard opened his mouth to speak. "No talking. You'll let me finish."

His tongue froze in his mouth, but it didn't stop him from glaring. God, he'd never hated someone so much before. 

"I know you think I won't get my hands dirty, but that's not true." Pierce opened a drawer where Howard used to keep his pencils and drew out a very sharp knife. "I want you to hold very still. I'd hate to have you bleed to death." 

Howard's breath grew louder as Pierce pressed the knife to his forearm. He wanted to protest, to yell, to call Pierce a bastard, but his tongue lay heavy and useless in his mouth. The pain, when it finally came, was almost overwhelming. Howard panted, sweat making his shirt cling to his chest as blood poured from the wound onto the table. 

When Pierce cut his tendons it felt like a rubber band had snapped and he knew that even if he had control of his hand, he wouldn’t be able to move it.

"Do I need to do this to your other arm?" Pierce asked.

Howard shook his head; his legs trembled with weakness as he continued to bleed. 

"You'll work on the serum?"

He nodded frantically. A lie, but he wasn’t ready to die here and leave Maria to HYDRA.

Pierce smiled. "I knew we could come to an understanding. I'll expect a status report every week. Now you had better staunch the wound before you bleed out." 

***** 

Howard remembered some things about the serum. He remembered that it had taken him years before he'd managed to create a serum that wouldn't kill the lab rats outright. He remembered the frustration and the setbacks. 

If he tried, if he really tried, he might be able to buy them a few years before Pierce killed them. 

***** 

"This is familiar," Maria said wryly, making Howard look up from his notebook. Despite her tone, there was amusement in her eyes and he smiled at her. 

"I know, I know, but I need to finish this report." Howard flexed his right hand; there were consequences for lateness and while he healed quickly…

"You seem almost happy." She put down her knitting needles and took a good look at him. She was making him another sweater; this one green.

He didn’t actually need the sweaters, his room was still too warm and his lab wasn't much better, but he could see that she needed something to do besides read and exercise. She'd even made sweaters for the guards. "I do like to work." 

"You do. Things are going well?" This was her way of asking for a status report, albeit more nicely than Pierce. 

"It's frustrating," he said. "I know I've succeeded in the past, at least that's what I'm told, I just…" He worried about what else he might have forgotten, some precious memory maybe, or some essential tidbit that changed him. "I've drawn so much of my own blood I feel like a mad scientist." 

Maria took his hand and squeezed it gently. She didn’t offer platitudes or try to bolster his confidence like she might have before their imprisonment. He didn't really expect her to. "When I see you like this, it reminds me of when Tony was five and he decided he was going to go as you for Halloween. He made me draw a mustache on him with my eyebrow pencil, then he put on a little suit and lab coat."

Howard laughed. "I don't remember that."

"You were in D.C. on business that week," she said. "Everyone kept mistaking him for a doctor. He was so proud of himself. He was so proud of you." 

Howard swallowed hard and looked down at the notebook in his hands. There wasn't much to be proud of now. "Well, he was young."

"He'd still be proud of you, Howard." 

He could tell that she meant it, but he didn't quite believe her. He had left so much unsaid between them. He'd thought he had more time. 

Howard wished he'd had more time.

***** 

"I'm worried," she said. "We haven't seen Pierce in over three weeks."

"It's not the first time." But even as he said it, he knew she was right to be worried. This felt different and he wasn’t sure why.

"The guards are on edge; snapping at each other, their hands linger on their weapons."

"Maybe Pierce is dead." The thought frightened him more than anything. Better the devil you knew.

"Do you think they'll kill us?" she asked, reaching over to grab his hand, her fingers clenching so tightly that there would be bruises. 

"If we're lucky." And, God, wasn't it horrible that he meant it?

***** 

Howard woke to a rifle shoved into his gut. He grunted and glared at the guard. "All right, I'm up," he said, rubbing his eyes. He didn't sit up until the guard backed away.

"Get out of bed. Now. Move it." The guard gestured to the open door of his cell.

He slowly got to his feet, unsure of what was going on. Was this it? Were they going to take him out back and shoot him like a rabid dog? He didn’t think Pierce was back; the guard looked too frightened for that. 

Howard was led down the hall, if he lingered too long the guard shoved the barrel into his back and told him to move. He'd be annoyed if he weren't so worried. "What's going on?" he asked, finally. "What are you going to do? Where's Maria? Where's Pierce?" 

"Shut your fucking face and move." The guard shoved the barrel into his back hard enough to make him stumble. 

They didn't go very far, just two floors down. The walls were painted gray on this floor and the lights above them barely illuminated the hall. The whole thing felt ominous. He shivered and rubbed his sweaty palms against his pants. 

At the end of the hall, he was shoved into a dimly lit room. Maria was there, but she didn't look at him when he entered; she was too busy staring at the… glass and metal capsules near the far wall. He stopped next to her; he couldn’t take his eyes off them. 

"What are those?" he whispered. 

"I think they're going to put us back in deep freeze, my darling." Maria grasped his hand and squeezed gently. "Better than the alternative, I suppose." 

"I love you," he said. "I will always love you."

"And I'll always love you." Maria's voice trembled slightly and he wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her tight. But that would be showing weakness and they could ill afford it. 

One of the other guards opened the capsules and said, harshly, "Get in. Now!" 

Howard didn't want to obey, and when he finally looked at Maria, he could see his anguish mirrored on her face. But of course what they wanted didn't matter. Their bodies obeyed even when their minds protested. 

He climbed in and leaned back, letting them strap him in. His breath came in short gasps and his heart pounded in his chest. "Please, don’t do this." When he was strapped in, the capsule closed. "Don’t do this," he screamed. "God, please, don’t do this to us!"

There was a hiss of air. The cold burned his skin and lungs; he never knew that cold could burn so much. He didn't think he'd ever be warm again. 

He didn't think—

*****

Cold again.

So damn cold. 

*****

 _At least my head doesn't hurt this time._ That was the first thought that crossed Howard's mind once he was conscious. 

He kept his eyes closed, his breathing deep and slow, and tried to prolong the moment before he let Pierce know he was aware. He was sitting, his arms bound to his torso—in a straitjacket?—and there was something cold and heavy circling his throat. Howard listened closely, but all he could hear was the sound of the air conditioning. He'd have to risk it.

Howard slowly opened his eyes and looked around. 

He was in some sort of interrogation room. The walls and ceiling were a dingy gray and the floor cement. He was sitting on a metal chair at a metal table and there was a mirror, obviously two-way, in the wall across from him. He wondered who was watching and how long they'd leave him to his own devices.

He grimaced at himself in the mirror: he was a mess. His hair stuck up every which way, he needed a shave and he looked almost sickly. Or crazed. The straitjacket was black, obviously not standard canvas, but he tested its strength anyway. There was very little give and he realized it was vibranium weave. The heaviness he'd felt around his neck was a metal collar of some sort. He wasn't sure what it was supposed to do, but it looked dangerous. 

He was just about to get to his feet when the door behind him opened. Relief flared when he saw that it General Thaddeus Ross, and not Pierce, who walked into the room. But the relief was quickly extinguished. Ross could be HYDRA and even if he wasn't, well, Howard wasn't exactly resting in some hospital somewhere. 

"Long time no see," Howard said, cautiously. Ross was a dangerous man; how many times had they talked about Howard's work on Project Rebirth? How many times had Howard seen that dangerous, greedy glint in Ross's eyes?

Ross snorted. "That's an understatement. I went to your funeral, Howard, both yours and Maria's. The President attended with his wife. Peggy Carter gave a stirring eulogy. And then a few weeks ago, the NSA raids a HYDRA compound and what do they find? The both of you alive and well and in cryogenic freeze." 

"Surprise." Howard nodded down to himself. "What's with the warm welcome, General?"

"It's Secretary of State now," Ross replied and Howard couldn't keep the surprise off his face. "I know, I can hardly believe it myself. As for the precautions, we've had some run-ins with some of HYDRA's enhanced individuals."

"We're not HYDRA."

"But you are enhanced." And there was that maniacal look in Ross's eyes. "You son of a bitch, you did it. You recreated the serum." 

A shiver went down Howard's spine and he fought the urge to back away as quickly as he could. "Where's Maria? I want to see Maria. I won't say anything else until I see her." God, what if Ross had already done something horrible to her? 

Ross looked at the mirror and nodded. "She'll be here in a few minutes. Until then let's talk about—"

"What year is it?" Howard asked; the interruption angered Ross, but he didn't care. 

"It's 2016. You're ninety-nine, Howard." 

He didn't know how he felt about that. He never thought he'd live that long, especially not like this. Ross kept up a stream of small talk that Howard ignored. When the door opened and Maria was shoved into the room by a couple of black clad men, Howard stumbled to his feet and went to her. 

Maria had a rapidly fading bruise on her forehead and she was grinning madly despite a split lip. He noticed there was blood on her teeth.

"Maria, what happened?" he asked cautiously.

"I head-butted one of the guards." She laughed joyously and it took a moment for Howard to realize why she was so happy. As HYDRA's prisoners, they'd been unable to lift a finger against Pierce or his men. If they tried their muscles locked up.

"You head-butted one of the guards." He laughed with her, pressing his forehead to hers. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Then Maria kicked the guard on her right in the knee and the man screamed. 

Howard backed away quickly. He'd never been a SHIELD agent, he couldn’t do what Maria could, but she'd taught him well. Howard barreled into one of the men trying to come up behind her, knocking the man into the wall, then he went for Ross, who was trying to inch his way out of the room. 

He ducked under a punch, driving his knee into the guard's groin, and broke another man's leg, if his scream was any indication. "Where the hell do you think you're going, Secretary Ross?"

Ross swung at him and Howard staggered back at the blow, but it didn’t stop him. He was a super soldier now, for good or ill. 

They scuffled, or rather Ross punched him in the face several times. The taste of blood made Howard queasy but he knew he had to act quickly. He drop-kicked Ross, marveling at how he managed to keep his balance and when Ross went down, he pressed a knee to the man's throat. "I will break his neck," he said loudly. "Tell him to stop before I break your neck." 

"Hold, damn you, hold!" Ross shouted.

Slowly, the man still standing, pulled away from Maria. She was bloody and bruised, but still grinning.

"Now take that damn straitjacket off her. Now!" Howard pressed against Ross's throat until he gurgled and the guard hastened to obey. 

Once she was free of the straitjacket, Maria gripped the metal collar and broke it open. Only then did she knock out the guard. "Your turn now, dear." She made quick work of his collar and straitjacket. 

Howard grabbed a gun and pulled Ross to his feet. "Which way out of here? And don’t think I won't put a bullet in your brain if you try double crossing us, Ross." 

"Out the door and to your right. The hangar is on level one," he rasped out, glaring at them both. "Even if you get out of here, we'll hunt you down, Stark."

"Oh, I hope you try," Howard said softly. "I've been wanting to give this new body of mine a chance to really let go. Now let everyone know that we're coming out and that they'd better keep the corridor clear. If not, we'll kill you, then make sure the whole place goes down before we die. You know me, Ross, that's not an idle threat." He looked at Maria. "You ready, sweetheart?"

"I have your six, my love." Maria was battered and bloody and absolutely beautiful.

"We're coming out," Ross shouted as Maria slowly opened the door. 

Howard let out a slow breath when he noted that the corridor was clear. He didn't want to fight his way out of here. He just wanted to go home and be with his family. 

Maria took up the rear in case anyone tried sneaking up behind them and Howard was glad. The place was dark and gloomy and it gave him the creeps.

"What is this place?" he asked. 

"Prison," Ross said. "A special prison for monsters like you."

Maria let out a bark of laughter. "The only monster here is you, Thaddeus. What would Karen think if she saw you now?"

Ross didn't reply, but Howard didn't expect him to. 

They made it to the hangar with no interference and that worried Howard. Why were they making this so easy? No, no, he'd worry about that later. For now, he had to concentrate on getting them out of here. He looked over the planes and picked one at random.

"Can you fly it?" Maria asked. 

"I can fly anything," he assured her with more confidence than he felt. "Just make sure there aren't any surprises waiting for us, dear." 

She nodded her head and opened the door to the plane.

"She's good at this," Ross said. 

"Of course she is. Maria learned from the best." Howard didn’t bother hiding the pride in his voice. 

"A lot's changed in twenty-five years, Howard. The world's a different place. A dangerous place."

"Shut up." Howard shook him gently. "You're starting to sound like Pierce." 

A few minutes later, Maria popped her head out. "All's clear."

Howard nodded, dragged Ross into the plane, and handed custody over to Maria. "When I give the all clear, toss him out and close the door."

"Just hurry, this is taking too long." 

He headed straight to the cockpit, sat in the pilot's chair, and looked at the instrument panel. "All right, Howard, you can do this." It took a few minutes to familiarize himself, but then it all seemed to click. "Maria, it's time to go." He counted to fifteen, then started the engines. The hanger doors were still closed, but the plane had weapons. "Buckle in, sweetheart, it's going to be a bumpy ride." 

Maria quickly complied.

Howard blasted open the hangar doors, and then took off; there wasn't anything but water for miles. 

"That was too easy," Maria said. "Why was that too easy?"

He wanted to protest that it wasn't easy at all, but he knew that was a lie. "I don't know. Let's worry about that later. Right now we need to find out where we are so we can get to where we're going."

"New York?"

Howard shook his head. "Too dangerous. We have to land this thing as soon as possible and then…"

"And then," she prompted.

"We'll worry about that later. Once we have the lay of the land." Ross was right about one thing, a lot could happen in twenty-five years.

***** 

They landed the plane in the middle of the night on some deserted beach. And despite the fact that they were barefoot and in bloody jumpsuits, they got as far away from the plane as possible. Howard hoped that someday he'd get to fly a plane like that again.

"We need to head to a city, a big city," he said. 

"We're not going to get very far looking like this." Maria grimaced at their clothes. "We're too conspicuous. How do you feel about breaking and entering?"

Howard shrugged. "It's been awhile." 

"Don't worry," Maria put an arm around his waist," I hear it's just like riding a bike." 

"I'd kill for a bike right now."

***** 

Thanks to his misspent youth, Howard was better at breaking into houses than Maria. They didn't steal much: some ill-fitting clothes, money they found in a cookie jar, and food. Then they hid out in an abandoned house until dark and stole a truck. They'd have to abandon it once they got to Newark, but then they'd have their pick of cars to steal.

"We're so close," Maria said, looking out the window. 

"He's safer this way." She knew that, they both knew it, but Howard understood her desire to see their son. She wanted to look at him, to touch him, to confirm that he was all right. Howard wanted the same thing. 

She reached over and put a hand on his knee. "Do you think they put tracking devices in us?"

"God, I hope not. But I'll build something to check." That would take money. Luckily, he was good at picking pockets, too. 

***** 

Once they got to Newark, Howard ditched the car in a parking structure and they headed straight for the library. There were a lot more computers than he remembered and he wondered what they were used for. 

Maria chuckled softly and nudged him with her shoulder. "Go on. We can spare a few minutes for you to drool over the new technology."

Howard grinned and kissed her on the cheek before settling in front of one of the unused computers. He took a moment to familiarize himself with the set up and he was surprised to find that it wasn’t much different from what he was used to. Sure the monitor was thinner, more lightweight, but he still had to use a mouse to move the cursor. 

But then he started to explore and… and _God_ the amount of information available was astounding. It was beyond his wildest dreams. Sure there had been closed systems where people could share information, but this—the whole world was at his fingertips. Magazines, newspapers, books: more information that he could ever have time to read. 

Howard typed his name into the Google search engine and there was his life laid out before him. His stomach twisted uncomfortably; he didn't like that so much of himself was available to just anyone. 

He hesitated a moment, wondering if he should type Tony's name, then changed his mind at the last minute. He typed in Peggy's name instead and… Oh. No. Howard closed his eyes against the sting of tears and fought to breathe against the tightening of his chest. He didn’t want to believe it; he was sure that Peggy was going to live forever.

God, he'd been twenty-three when he first met her. Twenty-three and so full of shit he was surprised now that she hadn't punched him. But somehow, despite his personality, they'd become friends, best friends, and now she was gone.

How was he supposed to live without her?

"Howard?"

He started when he felt Maria's hand on his shoulder. He quickly wiped his face on his sleeve and took a deep breath. "I… I'm all right, I just…" He gestured to the computer screen. 

Maria drew in a quick breath and leaned against him. 

"I'm going to miss her," he said. There were no words to explain how much he would miss her. 

They were both quiet for a minute, and then Maria cleared her throat. "Did you look up Tony?"

"No," he said, then typed their son's name into the search bar. 

There was a lot of information. More than Howard expected to find and not all of it was good. It seemed that their son was a... a superhero. He clicked on the Wikipedia article—that seemed to be the most comprehensive article of the bunch. Maria read over his shoulder. 

It was standard fare—parties, drinking, women—until they got to the part where Tony was held by terrorists for three months in Afghanistan. Howard covered his mouth and reminded himself that Tony was safe and alive and apparently a hero called Iron Man. Maria seemed to have the same reaction: she gripped his arm tightly and made a soft wounded sound.

He continued to read, growing more horrified by the moment. Vanko, God, he never thought that would come back to bite him, but evidently his son was as much of a genius as his father. Maybe he should have asked for imprisonment instead of deportation for Anton and his family. 

Maybe he should have done a lot of things differently. At least Obadiah had been there for Tony, helping him through most of it.

Maria kissed his cheek and briefly rested her head on his shoulder. 

He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders; there was still a lot more to read. He was fine, he perfectly fine until he got to the part with the Avengers. When he saw Steve's name… 

When he…

Steve.

Howard got up and went over to one of the windows and stared out at the street. He didn't know what to feel most. Joy? Relief? Sorrow? He felt all of them. Steve was alive; he was alive and fighting aliens. Howard pressed his forehead to the glass and laughed. 

Aliens. What the hell sort of world had they woken up to? 

About twenty minutes later, Maria came up behind him and pressed a hand to the small of his back. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," he said. "We'll leave soon, after I finish my research."

"All right. I asked the librarian for directions to the nearest mall."

Howard looked at her, his eyebrows raised. "Looking to do some shopping?"

"There will be plenty of pockets to pick and cars to choose from. Besides, we can't blend in if we're dressed like this." 

She had a point.

***** 

The nice thing about being old was that most young people saw them as harmless, when they were noticed at all. It made stealing pin numbers and filching cards easy and in no time they were a few thousand dollars richer. 

They bought some new clothes, a few cheap burner phones, and stole a Starkpad from a harried looking mother before heading to the parking lot. 

They easily found an unlocked car and switched its license plates with a car the same make and model and soon they were on their way. 

"Do we know where we're going?" Maria asked, staring out the window.

"San Francisco."

She looked at him incredulously. "That's quite the drive. What's in San Francisco?"

"Not what, who." 

Maria laughed. "Hank Pym hates your guts."

"Which is why no one would think to look for us there," he said. It was a calculated risk, but Howard hoped that Hank would be willing to help them out regardless of his feelings. "Do you have a better idea?"

"No." She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I'm taking a nap. Let me know when you want to switch." 

***** 

The idea of driving in the dark had no appeal to either of them so Howard pulled into the parking lot of a dilapidated motel. Maria went into the office and a few minutes later came out with a key.

"He asked if I wanted the hourly rate," she said with a delighted grin and Howard rolled his eyes; she had always had the strangest humor. 

The room wasn’t the worst place he'd ever been in: there were no bugs, he saw no evidence of rodents, and the whole place smelled faintly of bleach. Howard stretched out on the double bed with the Starkpad while Maria cleaned up in the bathroom. There was a diner up the street, maybe later they would walk over and grab a bite. Until then he was going to play with this amazing device; he itched to take it apart and see what made it tick. And when he had more free time, he would. 

Howard had been engrossed in an article about Stark Industries' foray into clean energy—because of course Tony had managed to miniaturize the arc reactor, just like Howard knew he would—when Maria climbed into bed and took the Starkpad from his hands. He opened his mouth to protest, but the words died on his lip. 

She was naked. 

He let his gaze wander over her body: her full breasts, her flat belly, and the sweet curve of her hips.

"Are you just going to look?" she asked.

"I don't have a condom," he said, his heart pounding in his chest, the desire to touch her almost unbearable.

Maria smiled and stroked his lower lip with her thumb. "You'll just have to use that talented mouth of yours then, won't you?"

He swallowed hard and nodded, his cock stirring.

"Then what are you waiting for, darling?"

***** 

"Mm, I needed that," Maria said, stretching languorously, a satisfied smirk on her face. 

Howard stroked her belly, his own body heavy with exhaustion. "I missed this. I missed you."

"So did I. But you understand why…"

He nodded and kissed the mole under her right breast. "I didn't like the idea of them watching us either." Or of what might have happened had she gotten pregnant. 

"I do wish we had our toys so that I could tend to you properly." Suddenly, she began to chuckle. "Oh. God, I hope Tony didn't find our toy chest."

"Jesus." Howard didn't know whether to be horrified or amused.

Maria had no problem deciding. She bust out into laughter, her hand covering her mouth. 

He buried his face against her shoulder and groaned. "Just for that you're getting us dinner."

"You're so high maintenance," she said, a slight smile still on her face. 

"You knew that when you married me, sweetheart." 

***** 

It took them six days to get to San Francisco. Maria bought him a hat with 'Property of Alcatraz' emblazoned across it, and a pair of bright red sunglasses for herself. They sat in a little café drinking coffee that tasted like it had sat at the bottom of the pot for several hours, and watched the people come in. 

"So what's the plan?" she asked, adding more sugar to her coffee. "We can't just walk up to his house and knock on the front door." 

"Why not?" He wasn't serious; he just wanted to see her glare at him. He smiled when she did, pulling a snort from her. "I thought we could break into his house and surprise him. That way, if he screams, the whole block won't hear it." 

She shook her head, her lips curving slightly. "You're horrible."

"Says the woman who bought me this hat." He gestured to said hat. 

"You just want to break into his house and scare him half to death." 

Howard stared at her; he didn’t see anything wrong with that. 

"Fine, we'll go tonight. In the meantime, let's visit some old haunts." Maria gave him a wicked look. "There are a few shops I remember you enjoying." 

***** 

Howard was a little put out by the fact that they didn't actually break into the house, although Maria assured him that climbing into an open window was just as well; they didn't have to worry about alarms or locks or the police. 

Never mind that Howard liked dismantling alarms and breaking locks—though he could do without the police.

They carefully made their way downstairs from the second floor. Howard remembered coming here only once before. Hank's animosity towards him had started early on, although Maria and Jan had got along like a house on fire. 

Maria went ahead of him to scout out the area; she was better at sneaking. 

Howard parted his lips to call her back when the floorboards creaked behind him. He hissed softly and reached for the gun at his side, ignoring how his pulse jumped and the space between his shoulders itched.

"I wouldn't," said a lovely, feminine voice that was definitely not Hank. "Put your hands up and turn around slowly." 

He sighed, raised his hands, and turned slowly. It would be embarrassing if he got shot now, after all this time. "Hope," he said, with a charming smile. "You look just like your mother."

Hope's eyes narrowed as she stared at him. "Do I know you?"

He kept his eyes on hers, so she wouldn’t notice that Maria was coming up behind her. "Yes, you do." 

"And we'd appreciate it if you didn't shoot us, dear." Maria said; Hope started, but thank goodness, didn't pull the trigger. Maria took the gun from her and walked over to his side. "Where's your father?"

"Working." Hope looked puzzled. She'd been young when they'd disappeared. Then her eyes widened. "You're dead. You're both dead." 

"Not quite." Maria smiled sadly. "Get your father, Hope. We need his help." 

***** 

"I should have known," Hank said, giving Howard a cold, baleful stare. "Starks are like cockroaches." 

"Dad!" Hope sounded scandalized, but honestly Howard didn't really give a damn what Hank said.

"I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Howard stuffed half a scone into his mouth and almost cried. After years of bland, shitty food, then greasy take out, homemade pastries were heaven sent. "You kept Constance." He'd tried to steal her away once, but she had been devoted to the Pyms.

Maria moaned happily as she ate her own scone. "These are so good." 

And there was coffee, real French pressed coffee that was deep and rich and didn't taste like fucking burnt mud. He added cream and was considering the sugar when a cube began to move towards him. "Hank, I swear to God, I will eat those damn ants if they get anywhere near me." 

The sugar cube quickly headed in the other direction. 

"Why don't you tell me what's going on," Hank said, finally, "Before I toss you both out on your asses." 

Howard shared a glance with Maria who gestured for him to get on with it. "I recreated the Super Soldier Serum."

"Goddamn it, Howard." The disgust was evident in Hank's voice. 

"I know, I know," he said, rolling his eyes, because Hank's disapproval meant absolutely nothing to him and always would. "It gets worse." He started from the beginning, with the acquisition of some of Erskine's old notebooks and went on from there, with Maria interjecting from time to time, until he came to the present day. 

Hank crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. "And you thought I'd help you? After what you did to me, after what your kid did to Scott, you're lucky I don't throw you out on your ass."

Hope opened her mouth, but seemed to think better of it, and closed it again without saying a word. Despite her silence, Howard could see how closely she watched what was going on around her. It was obvious that she took after Hank; she kept her silence until words were needed.

He knew that Hank wouldn't do that. The man, for all his faults, was a good guy who believed in doing the right thing. "Scott? Is that the name of your successor?" He took a sip of his coffee. "I think that if push comes to shove, despite my memory problems, I could recreate the serum. Again. And Ross, unlike Pierce, isn't very good at waiting for results. He'll hurt Tony and Maria in order to get what he wants. And when he gets it… You may hate me and my son, but you know that if Ross has the serum it'll be an unmitigated disaster." 

"Hank," Maria said softly, reaching out to touch his hand. "We're not asking for much. Just some money, a place to lay low, and help getting in contact with Steve Rogers."

"Dad, if they're right, we need to do this," Hope said, finally. "Remember what happened in Harlem."

Everyone in the room grimaced at that. 

"And what happens if we help them and Ross finds out. We'll wind up on the run like Scott." Hank scowled at him; Howard stared back blandly. "I'm not willing to stick my neck out for him."

Hope's face flushed and she narrowed her eyes. She looked like a snake about ready to snap, then suddenly, the tension bled away. "Mom would've wanted us to help them."

There must have been some truth to her words because Hank cursed and rubbed his face. "You can't stay here, it's too dangerous. But there is someone who'll give you a place to hide until I can get ahold of my contacts." Hank looked at his daughter, who laughed softly.

***** 

"Aw, man, I never met anyone who died and came back to life before," Luis said, bouncing on the balls of his feet, a cheerful smile on his face. "I'm kinda new to this whole superhero thing. But hey, Mr. Pym says you two need a place to stay and since Scotty is on the run, I got an extra room. You guys like waffles?"

Howard tuned out the outpouring of words and looked around the living room. It wasn’t much, but it was better than the tenements he'd grown up in as a boy. And in places like this, the residents were hyper vigilant when it came to strangers. That could only help them. 

"So I almost went to your son's expo a few years back," Luis said, stepping into Howard's line of sight.

He took a step back and blinked rapidly. "What?"

"The Stark Expo, I almost went to that. My cousin Hector got us a couple of tickets. We were gonna drive across country, but then I got arrested." Luis gave an easy shrug.

Howard knew he'd probably regret asking this, but he did it anyway. "What did you do?" 

"Stole two smoothie machines: one for me and one for my mom. I was kinda on a kick, you know? So I didn't get to go, but hey that's where I met Scotty, so I can't complain."

Howard had a feeling that Luis didn't complain about much. 

"Luis, where will we be staying tonight?" Maria touched his arm and smiled at him warmly. "We're both a bit tired." 

"Oh, no doubt, no doubt. The room's this way." He led them to a tiny little room that smelled musty with disuse. "I cleaned up a little because Scott left in a hurry. The sheets are clean. Hope said she'd be by tomorrow with some clothes, so if you wanna borrow some of his pajamas, I know he won't mind."

"Thank you." Maria gently maneuvered Luis out of the room and closed the door.

Howard let out a deep breath and fell back onto the bed. "Well, that was exhausting."

"I was surprised by how well it went with Hank," Maria said, pulling off her shirt and putting on a new one. 

"I didn't mean Hank." Howard gestured towards the living room. 

Maria sighed and gave him one of her patented _you are an asshole_ looks. "Be nice. He's a sweet young man who is going out of his way to help a couple of strangers. Besides, you like him." 

Howard gasped in mock affront. "How dare you. I do not." 

"Oh, you can't fool me, Howard Stark. I know you too well. You find the boy's banter charming. If you didn't, you would have shut him down earlier."

"I was being polite." 

"You were being charmed." She threw her dirty t-shirt at his face. 

"I don't have to stand for this slander." Howard kicked off his shoes and stretched out on the bed, turning so that his back was to her.

Maria sat on the bed and rested her hand on his hip. "Are you sure you want to go to bed so early?"

"It's two in the morning," he mumbled and closed his eyes. 

She slid a hand up his shirt and traced circles along his stomach; he drew in a sharp breath and shuddered. "I bought condoms earlier. Let's see how big of a dent we can make in the box."

"The walls are thin." Of course, it wasn't really much of a protest and Maria knew it.

"Then we'd better be quiet." 

***** 

The next morning, Howard woke up alone, the smell of coffee and bacon in the air. He could hear faint laughter as he pulled on his boxers and a t-shirt and stumbled out into the kitchen area. There was a slight hitch in his step that he tried to minimalize, but for all the quick healing that serum offered, Maria had given him quite the work out. 

Both Maria and Luis were huddled together by the counter and when he stepped into the room, they looked at him and smiled. 

"Hey, Mr. Stark, wanna waffle?" Luis, he noticed, was wearing a dark blue suit.

"He needs his morning coffee first," Maria said with a laugh, bringing Howard a mug, which he quickly drained. 

The coffee was awful, but at least it didn't taste like burnt mud. He quickly drank a second mug before speaking. "Waffles sound great." 

"There's a bunch warming in the stove. Mrs. S. knows where the syrup and whipped cream are. I should be home by six, but I got some friends, Dave and Kurt, keeping an eye out for any bad guys."

"Where do you work?" Howard asked, as Maria pulled the waffles from the oven.

Luis straightened to his full height and lifted his chin, obviously proud of himself. "I'm a security consultant for Mr. Pym." 

It was on the tip of Howard's tongue to offer Luis a better position with Stark Industries, but then he remembered that it wasn't his company anymore. "Have a great day at work," he said softly.

When Luis finally left, Maria put a hand on his back and urged him to sit down. "Have some waffles." 

***** 

After the first two inappropriate videos, Howard was careful about what he looked at on YouTube, especially if it had his son's name attached to it. He also thanked God that they didn't have this technology back in the thirties and forties—he would have never lived down his youth. 

Still, there were a few videos he kept coming back to, despite himself. And as they waited for Hope to show up with lunch and some new clothes, he opened up the one that haunted him the most. 

It was titled 'Tony Stark's breakdown.' 

Howard hit the little play button and Tony, his arm in a sling, his face marred with cuts, a haunted look in his eyes, sank to the floor in front of a podium and said to a crowd of reporters, "I never got to say goodbye to my father. There are questions I would've asked him. I would've asked him how he felt about what his company did, if he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we remember from the newsreels. I saw young Americans—"

Maria took the Starkpad from him, ignoring his cry of protest, and turned off the video. "Stop it. Stop torturing yourself." 

"I'm not," he said and Maria raised her eyebrows at him. "I should have told him, Maria." 

Maria sighed and sat next to him on the couch. "Howard." 

"No, no, I should have told him. I should have told him about my bad babies, I should have told him about all the mistakes I made along the way." He rubbed his face. "I thought I'd have the chance. I thought that there was one perfect moment to tell him all the things I'd learned, but the truth is, I should have been teaching him along the way. And now it's too late. He's had to learn everything the hard way."

"Just like you had to." Maria leaned in and kissed the corner of Howard's mouth. "I love our son, you know that I do. But he's too much like you, Howard. You could have explained everything until you were blue in the face and he wouldn't have understood. Tony has never seen a rule he didn’t want to break, a limit he didn't want to surpass. He's always learned best when the choices were either succeed or wind up with blood on the floor. Usually his." 

Howard was quiet as he tried to push back the regrets, lock them away. "I did the best I could."

"I know and so does Tony." Maria cupped his face. "Now stop moping. You can make it up to him when we figure a way out of this mess." 

***** 

Howard looked up from the awful romance novel he was reading, but somehow couldn't put down, when Maria once again crossed the room to peek outside at the street. They'd been stuck in the apartment for several days waiting for word on Hank's contacts, so they were both a little antsy, but this was excessive. 

"Is everything all right, Maria?" he asked, with a little frown. 

"Hm?" She looked over at him where he was sprawled over the couch and smiled. "Yes, of course. I just… I suppose I'm getting paranoid." 

"You think someone's watching the building?" When she nodded, he felt more than just a little worried. "Your instincts are usually pretty good about this sort of thing. You sure it's not Luis's friends?" 

"It's a pretty blonde girl." All right, so not one of Luis's friends. "She's very good, but… But some of her patterns are familiar."

Howard sat up and set the book aside. "Familiar how?" 

"She's been SHIELD trained." 

Howard's eyes widened slightly in alarm and his first instinct was to run and run fast. But this was more Maria's purview. "What do you suggest we do?"

"Well, neither Ross nor what's left of HYDRA has come swarming in to capture us, so I think we're safe for now. If we run, that might force them to act. And, darling, I'm afraid I don't have enough ammo for a confrontation. Not to mention that this building is full of civilians." 

"She could be friendly," he mused. 

"Yes, she could be. But I'm not willing to test that theory out. Not yet." 

He smiled at her. "You have a plan?"

"The beginning of one." She smiled back at him in amusement. "Don't worry, darling, It'll be like old times." 

And that was one of the reasons he loved her so very much.

***** 

Howard stepped out of the building onto the dark street and shivered. There was a nip in the air that would have had his joints aching before the serum. Now it just felt uncomfortable. He pulled up his collar, pulled down his cap and started walking, weaving past the crowds of people heading to the club nearby. 

He wanted to look back to see if their watcher had taken the bait, but no matter how much the area between his shoulder blades prickled, he knew better. Besides, Maria would make sure he was safe. 

Howard slowed down a bit when the crowds thinned, that's when he saw the boy leaning against the light post, wearing a pair of ripped jeans and a tight, dirty t-shirt. The boy was blond, with light blue eyes—the sort of boy Howard liked, but was always careful not to pick when he and Maria brought someone home. His mouth went dry and he made deliberate eye contact with the boy, then made a tiny head gesture toward the alley closest to them. 

The boy smiled, a slight curve of the mouth and headed into the alleyway. A moment later, Howard followed. Just like old times. Except not quite.

"It's fifty for a blow job," the boy said pressing up against Howard. "A hundred if you're looking for a quickie." 

There was a scuffle on the street and Howard's heart began to pound. He shoved a couple of twenties at the boy. "Here, to keep your mouth shut. Now beat it." 

The boy took the money and ran past Maria who was half dragging their blonde shadow into the alley. Maria's nose was bleeding and her lower lip was busted; Howard pulled out his gun.

"There's no need for that," the blonde said, annoyed. "I wanted you to see me. I wanted you to capture me."

"Is that so, sweetheart?" Howard asked, just to see the anger flash across the young woman's face. "Who do you work for? What do you want with us?"

"I'd talk if I were you. He gets a little antsy in situations like these," Maria said. "We know you used to work for SHIELD." 

The woman let out an angry huff. "I used to work for the CIA, too."

"You're CIA?" Maria gave Howard a worried look.

"Used to be." She pressed her lips together, then gave a tiny nod, as if she'd come to some decision. "I'm Sharon Carter. I'm Peggy Carter's great-niece. And she told me a great deal about you, Mr. Stark. And you as well, Mrs. Stark—she said you could have been the next director of SHIELD, except you fell in love with the most annoying man in the universe."

Howard let out a bark of laughter, but his gun didn't waver. "That sounds like Peg, but that doesn’t mean much these days."

"Oh, I don't know," said a deep, masculine voice from the entrance of the alley. "I thought it might mean everything to you."

That voice made Howard hesitate and Maria actually let Sharon go. "You're dead."

Fury stepped into just the right spot so that the moon illuminated his body—the dramatic bastard. "So were you, last I heard. We should talk." 

"Maria?" Howard wouldn't put the gun away unless she said so. 

She was quiet for a very long moment, then she sighed and nodded; he put the gun away. "We'll trust you, for now. But know this, if you betray us, I will personally gut you."

"I promise you, Maria, we're friends," Nick said.

"We haven't exactly had a lot of luck with friends lately, Nick." Maria stood at Howard's side.

"Yeah, I know the feeling," he replied.

***** 

"Howard sits up front with the driver," Maria said when a black van pulled up to the entrance of the alley.

"Maria—" he started, but she quelled him a look. He knew why she wanted him with the driver. If they were betrayed, Howard could shoot the driver, but he'd also have better chance of escaping unscathed.

Nick knew all this, of course he did. "All right." 

Howard wasn't happy with it, but he knew better than to argue. When they dealt with matters of higher math, theoretical physics, and engineering, she deferred to him. And when they discussed spy craft and Tony, he left matters to her. "Where are we going, anyway?" 

"Someplace safe. Now get in the damn van." 

***** 

SHIELD had been busy; that was Howard's first thought as he and Maria were led through the corridors of the Helicarrier that was parked just off the coast, hidden by state of the art stealth technology. 

Maria held his hand in a bruising grip, but he didn't protest. The corridors reminded him of their first prison: cold and frightening. The place made him feel sick and small. All he wanted to do was take Maria and run far, far away. 

Nick didn't say anything as he walked through an open doorway into some sort of lounge with a TV on the wall and several comfortable looking chairs and couches situated around the room.

He and Maria took the couch facing the door, their shoulders brushing, bodies tense. Nick took the chair closest to them, looking as calm and put together as he always did. It was just the three of them for now; Sharon had stayed behind in the city to keep Hank appraised of the situation and 'handle a few small issues.' 

"How long had you been following us?" Maria asked, finally, when the silence became to much to bear. "And why draw us out? Why not just come to us?"

"If you hadn't noticed, the world's a screwed up place." Nick leaned back and looked at them thoughtfully. "I heard rumors that _someone_ had escaped from the Raft, but no one could tell me who." 

"The Raft? That's what it's called?" What a harmless name for a horrible place. 

"It was supposed to be a prison for enhanced individuals, but Ross has turned it into his own little floating kingdom," Nick said. "After you escaped, things went quiet. I kept some feelers out but a bigger fire popped up that needed my attention. Then Pym put out the word that he was looking for Cap and I sent Sharon to find out what was going on. I was more than a little surprised when she mentioned the two of you." He was quiet for a few moments, then he said softly, "I saw your bodies after the accident. I identified them for SHIELD. How?"

"I don't know," Howard replied honestly. "All I know is that we woke up and it was twenty-one years later and Pierce…" He shook his head and took Maria's hand. 

Nick leaned in, his face a blank mask. "I know about the serum in your trunk. Did Pierce tell you that the Russians used it?"

The horror of Nick's words pushed a shocked 'no' from Howard's lips. He tried to get out of his seat, for what reason, he wasn't sure, but Maria held him at her side.

"You gave yourself the serum, you and Maria. Did you give the formula to Pierce? Do we have to worry that some HYDRA agent has the serum?" 

"Or course I didn't give Pierce the formula," he spat angrily. "I would have died first." Five Russian super soldiers; he felt despair settle over him and for a moment, he couldn’t breathe. Only Maria's presence at his side kept him grounded. "Five? What did they do? Nick, what did they do?"

Nick sighed and ran his hand over his head. "Nothing. They're dead." 

The relief he felt was like a punch to the chest. He slumped over with a gasp.

Maria cursed furiously at Nick. "Do that again and I'll pull your heart out of your chest. Slowly." 

The corners of Nick's mouth twitched. "I missed you, too, sweetheart. I missed both of you." 

"Ass," Howard said, but he couldn't deny that it was good to see Nick, that he felt safer in the man's presence. Howard was still wary, but he allowed himself to relax just a bit. 

Nick just shrugged. "I wish you two had popped up five months ago. "

Before Peggy had died, Nick meant. Before the Accords and before Ross once again climbed into an unchecked position of power. "Did you go to her funeral?" Howard asked quietly.

"No. I couldn’t get there soon enough." Nick took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Peggy had been his mentor, had been his and Maria's mentor, so Howard knew that Peggy's death had hit him hard. "Cap was there, though. He was a pallbearer."

Howard nodded, grief once again overwhelming him. 

"You can ask him about it if you want. He's eager to see you again." 

"Eager—" Howard tensed. "He's here? Steve… Cap… He's here?" 

Nick grinned. "Waiting for the go ahead to come in. Should I tell him you're ready to see him?"

"No!" Howard ignored the surprised looks Nick and Maria gave him at his outburst. He got to his feet and jerked his head towards the door. "I need to use the facilities." 

"Out and to your right. There's a sign on the door." 

That was all that Howard needed. He bolted from the room and found the bathroom just a few doors down. Thankfully, he was the only person using it, so he locked the door behind him, walked over to one of the sinks, and turned the spigot. He splashed water on his face, then looked at himself in the mirror. Even with the serum running through his veins he was still old. He was still… God, how old was he in lived years? Seventy-five? Seventy-six? Still a far cry from twenty-seven. 

Fuck, he needed to pull himself together. 

He jerked in surprise when there was a knock on the door. He considered ignoring it, when he heard Maria say, "Open the door before I break it down, darling." He wiped his face with a paper towel and unlocked the door for her.

Maria walked in, stopped, and gave him a long, lingering look. "I thought you'd be excited to see him." 

"I am excited." he replied. 

"So excited that you ran out of the room?" She brushed her fingers against the side of his face. "What's wrong?" 

"I didn't run out of the room."

Maria crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrows at him. 

He rubbed his face and sighed. He knew she wouldn't let him out of here until he told her what was going on. "I stopped looking for him, Maria. The last time I went out looking for him was in 1957. And I missed a year and…" And it had felt so good to not be disappointed in himself. Every year he'd come home empty handed and he'd felt like he'd left a piece of his soul behind. And it had hurt. Even thinking about it hurt. 

"You think he'll be angry?" she asked.

"No." Maybe that was the worst part. Steve would think that Howard stopped because of practical reasons: the money, the man-hours, the resources no longer wasted. And Howard would lie and agree with him because Howard was a coward. Howard had always been a coward. "I'm old," he offered finally.

"You are a handsome older gentleman. And I'm quite taken with you." Maria cupped his face and kissed him. "You can't hide from him forever. The Helicarrier isn't big enough for that. Besides, he can tell us about Tony." 

Howard laughed softly. "Yes, yes, he can." 

***** 

Howard hesitated at the entrance to the lounge, his heart pounding, and stared at Steve who was having a heated conversation with Nick, their voices low and angry. The conversation stopped abruptly when he and Maria walked into the room. 

Steve looked over at Howard, an easy smile on his face; it was so achingly familiar that a lump came to Howard's throat.

He knew that he should step forward, say something, but he felt rooted to the spot. Even Maria's gentle prodding couldn't move him. Not that it mattered; in a few quick strides, Steve was across the room, his hand gripping Howard's in a firm handshake. 

"You're a sight for sore eyes, Howard," Steve said warmly.

"You, too." His voice was rough, but no one commented on it. "God, look at you." Still as perfect as the day Steve had stepped out of that capsule. 

"I’m Howard's wife, Maria," Maria said. Only then did Howard look away; that's when he realized that he'd been holding Steve's hand the whole time. 

"Right. Of course." Howard pulled his hand from Steve's and cleared his throat. "Captain Steve Rogers, I'd like you to meet my wife Maria Stark. Maria, this is Captain America." 

Maria's eyes were bright with humor. "It's very nice to meet you, Captain Rogers."

"Please, call me Steve, ma'am."

"Only if you call me Maria." She took him by the arm and led him towards one of the couches. "If you don't mind, Steve, I'm going to interrogate you about my son now. I want to know everything about him."

Steve glanced at Howard, his eyebrows raised; Howard just shrugged. "I'll do my best to answer all your questions, Maria."

"That's all I ask, dear."

***** 

Nick stepped in about forty-five minutes into the conversation, right about when Steve looked a bit panicked. He pulled Maria into a conversation about the Helicarrier. 

Howard wouldn't mind being a part of that conversation, but Steve was smiling at him in that way that made Howard's chest ache. "What?" he asked. "Do I have food in my mustache?

"I can't believe you actually got married." Steve leaned in and Howard found himself mimicking the movement.

He shrugged; this was a conversation he had more than a few times. "I almost didn't." 

"Yeah, you sure took your time. Peggy—" Steve stopped and took a deep breath; Howard remembered that Steve had been a pallbearer at Peggy's funeral. "Peggy said that you were smitten the first time you saw Maria. I can see why. She's smart and determined and a little scary." 

Howard laughed softly. "Yeah, she sure is. And a whole lot more. It hasn't always been easy, but… She's stronger than I am. When I feel like I can't go on, she keeps me going. She doesn’t let me give up." 

"You've never given up on anything a day in your life."

"I gave up on you," he whispered, averting his eyes. It was better to get it out now than let the thought linger between them. He'd given up on Steve, when he knew that Steve would never have given up on him.

"I was dead," Steve said bluntly, and when Howard tried to protest Steve covered his mouth. "No, Howard, I was. I was dead. You looked for me for a long time, longer than you should have. Then you let me go. That's what people are supposed to do when their friends die. They let them go." 

Except, Howard never had. Maria knew it, Nick knew it; hell, Tony knew it. Even Peggy had commented on it from time to time. But that was something Howard could never say to Steve. He gently pushed Steve's hand away. "I'm still sorry."

"You still got nothing to be sorry about." Steve was quiet a moment, then he said, "We still have to talk about Bucky."

At Barnes's name, the taste of blood, thick and clotted, filled his mouth, and he remembered the bright flash of agony as his head-- "No," he said, fighting to control the sudden urge to run, to fight. It was just a memory. Memories couldn't hurt him. "Not now." 

"When?" Steve asked, because of course, when it came to Barnes, he was relentless.

 _Never._ "Later. After we deal with this mess."

"Okay. Howard—" But what he was about to say was interrupted by Nick's appearance beside them. 

"We need to talk," Nick said. 

Steve glared up at Nick, hands clenching into fists. "You can't even give them a few days?"

"We're running out of time, Steve. You know what could happen in a few days; we all do. Besides, they need to know what's going on. They need to understand how dangerous the world is for them." 

"Dangerous how?" Maria asked. She stood by Howard, her hand in his shoulder; he felt better with her by his side. 

"Ross has a lot of resources and he's not going to stop searching for you, not when Howard can give him the serum." Nick clasped his hands behind his back. "Super powered individuals have been disappearing from their beds in the middle the night and we've traced the disappearances back to Ross." 

Howard felt a prickle of fear travel down his spine and he shuddered. "What's he doing with them?"

"We don't know. No one knows, not even the folks who are supposed to be handling oversight." Nick clenched his jaw; it was obvious to anyone that knew him that he was furious. "I think we can assume that whatever's being done to those folks isn't good. We need to stop him, but the only way to do that is to expose him. We need to gather information on his activities." 

"You've tried sending people in before?" Maria asked, though they all knew the answer. 

Steve crossed his arms over his chest and looked away; Howard wondered if it was someone he knew.

"We know where the base is located, but Ross is a paranoid bastard when it comes to security. He only brings in people he knows and trusts. All his computers are on a closed system so we can't hack them from out here. We need someone who can go in and get us evidence. We need someone who can think on their feet, someone who can make a distraction when the time is right." 

Maria's hand gripped his shoulder painfully. "You want us to go back there."

"No," Howard said, his voice heavy with dread. "Not us. Me."

"I know what he meant," Maria replied angrily. "And you're not going anywhere without me."

"I'm the one Ross wants. I'm the one who can get into his computer system and get the information. I'm the one who can jury-rig something to get that distraction Nick needs." 

"You are not going back there without me, Howard." 

"If you go with me, he'll only use you to manipulate me. Is that what you want? To be used as a pawn? I can hold him off if it's just me. But with you…" Howard stared up at her, imploringly. "Pierce was willing to be patient. But Ross? We humiliated him when we escaped, Maria. You know Ross doesn’t take humiliation well." 

Maria glared down at him, tears in her eyes. He could see the anger and frustration on her face. "How am I supposed to protect you out here?"

"You're the only one I trust to get me out." Howard lifted her hand off his shoulder and kissed it. "Maria."

"If you don't come back to me, I'll raise you from the dead just so I can kill you again," she promised. Then she turned her gaze to Nick. "If we do this for you, I want something. I want to see Tony. I want both of us to see Tony." 

"Maria, that's not that simple." 

Maria raised her chin defiantly. "Neither is what you're asking us to do. Make it happen, Nick, or you can forget about it."

Nick pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine, I'll see what I can do." 

She nodded, a smug smile on her face. "Good, now if you don't mind, Howard and I would like a nap."

"I'll have someone show you to a room," Nick said wearily. 

"Lovely." She urged Howard to his feet, then turned her gaze to Steve. Howard knew that gaze; it never boded well for him. "We'll see you again soon, Captain? Maybe we could have dinner together."

"Um, yeah, that would be nice." Steve smiled up at her. "I could escort you to the commissary about seven." 

"That would be perfect, wouldn't it, darling?" Maria leaned into him. 

"Yeah, perfect." He had an idea of what she was planning and he wasn't sure if he wanted to go along with it or not. 

***** 

"No," Howard said, when the door closed on the agent and they were alone. "Maria, he's... he's…" 

"Captain America," she supplied helpfully.

"He's Steve Rogers." Howard ran his hands through his hair. "He pined after Peggy for years and the only thing he has to show for it is a kiss that she initiated. He's not gonna… Maria, he's not…"

Maria stepped up to him and cupped his face. "Darling, relax. We're eating dinner together, that's all. We're allowed to have dinner with handsome young men, very handsome young men. Excruciatingly handsome young men."

Howard couldn't help but chuckle. "He is. He really, really is." 

"I like him," she said softly. "I can see why you fell in love with him." 

For some reason, her words sent a frisson of panic through him. "What you and I have is love, Maria. What I felt for Steve…" He shook his head. "It was infatuation." 

"I think you do your feelings a discredit." She lifted up on her toes and kissed him. "I like him." 

He smiled and kissed her back. "I’m glad." 

***** 

Steve showed up at their doorstep at exactly seven, a paper bag in his hand. Howard glanced at the bag and raised his eyebrows; Steve grinned and offered it to him. "Dessert," he said.

Howard reached into the bag and took out a bottle of 18-year-old Laphroaig. "This from a man who would drink whatever Dum Dum Dugan would put in front of him?" 

There was a mischievous twinkle in Steve's eyes that made Howard smile. "I've been spending a lot of time with billionaires. My tastes are more refined now."

"Also, stolen alcohol tastes better," Maria said, taking the bottle from Howard; they both knew that this was Nick's favorite drink. "Let me put this away and we can go to dinner." 

***** 

The food at the commissary was not good, but Howard supposed he shouldn't be surprised. Bad military food was one of the constants in life. But at least the conversation was nice—he let Steve and Maria's voices wash over him like a balm and if he smiled too much, well, no one called him out on it. 

After dinner, Maria grabbed Steve's arm and some glasses and they headed back to their room. Steve seemed amused by the manhandling, shooting Howard sidelong glances, a grin on his face. Howard merely shrugged; Maria had always had a mind of her own. 

Once safely in their room, Maria pushed the glasses into Howard's hands and ordered Steve to sit down while she put on some music. A few minutes of fiddling with the SHIELD provided laptop and The Mamas and the Papas filled the silence. 

Howard let out a deep sigh as he poured them each a generous helping of Scotch. "Can't you put on something we can dance to?"

"I can dance to this," she said, swaying her hips, arms in the air, head thrown back.

"That is not dancing." Howard walked over to Steve, handing him a glass. "Tell her that's not dancing."

"I like this music," Steve offered, neutrally, taking a sip of his drink. 

"Traitor," he said, watching as Maria danced her way over to him. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"You used to like the way I danced." 

"I liked the way you moved." Howard leered at her. "I still do." 

"Well, I hope this means you'll dance with me later." They both knew he would. She looked at Steve. "What about you, Steve? Will you dance with me?" 

Steve ducked his head bashfully. "If your husband doesn't mind." 

"Not to worry, dear, he doesn't." She took her glass from Howard's hand and sauntered away, stretching out into a chair.

He took a deep breath, ignoring the sudden heat that washed through him. He held up his glass, ignoring Maria's knowing grin. "To old friends." 

"And new ones," Steve replied, and then they drank.

Howard hummed softly; it was good Scotch. No doubt Nick would grumble about it tomorrow even though he could have stolen it back while they were out. 

Steve sat quietly in his chair, hands cupping the glass, staring at the alcohol as if it were going to suddenly start to speak. 

Howard knew that look, it was Steve gathering his thoughts while he considered his next words, words that were no doubt something Howard didn’t want to hear. "What is it?"

"Hmm?" Steve looked up at him, shoulders tensing.

Howard felt his own shoulders tense, readying himself for Steve's next words. Steve probably wanted to talk about Bucky now. "Whatever it is, just say it." 

"Okay." Steve took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. "I don't think you should get involved. I think you should let Tony put you up someplace safe until this all blows over." 

"What?" He exchanged a glance with Maria, who only shrugged. "What do you mean, I shouldn't get involved? I'm already involved." 

"You're not a soldier, Howard. You're not a spy. Let the professionals deal with this," Steve said.

"I may not be a soldier or a spy, but I have the serum running through me, same as you, pal." Howard leaned forward in his seat, glaring at Steve. "And in case you forgot, I'm a genius. Hell, I helped found SHIELD, or did you forget that?"

"You really wanna talk about SHIELD right now?"

Howard clenched his hands around the glass, fighting the urge to take a swing at Steve. "Nick thinks I'm the right person for this job." 

"Nick does what it takes to get the job done, damn the consequences," Steve replied. "Let it go." 

"Like you've let it go?" Howard raised his voice. "Are you telling me that if you were in my position, you'd walk away? You'd let other people deal with it?" He shook his head. "You wouldn't and we all know it." 

"You're gonna get killed!" Steve stopped suddenly and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I don't have so many friends who remember me from back then that I can lose another one." 

Oh. Oh, that explained it. 

"Steve, I'll be as careful as I can, but you know I gotta do this. If he's hurting people, you know I have to help them. I have a responsibility to help them." He offered up a wan smile. "You taught me that. Besides, I know how to handle old Thunderbolt Ross. Trust me, pal." 

Steve chuckled and shook his head. "Don't I always?"

"Well, you're a smart guy." 

"Yeah." Steve finished his drink and got to his feet. "Well, this smart guy says it's late and he should let you sleep." 

"No, wait, stay." Maria quickly got to her feet and made her way over to Steve. She took his hand and smiled at him. "We haven't even danced." 

"Maybe next time," Steve said. 

"Stay," she replied softly and then stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the mouth. 

He stilled, like a deer caught in headlights, his face going red. And when she broke the kiss, he looked at Howard, eyes wide. 

This was Howard's chance to put a stop to this. He could laugh it off and Steve would give a confused smile and leave. The idea had merit, but it left him aching in places that hadn't ached in decades. Howard put aside his drink and walked over to where Steve was standing. "Stay," he said, leaning in to kiss Steve. 

Their lips met and Howard was expecting Steve to pull away, stammer an apology, or punch him, and run, but after a slight hesitation, Steve kissed back. 

When they broke apart, Steve laughed. "I've wanted to do that for seventy years." 

There was a flutter of excitement in Howard's belly and his breath caught in his throat. He hadn't felt this hopeful in years.

"Then you'll stay?" Maria asked.

Steve gave her a quick kiss on the mouth, then gave one to Howard, this one slightly longer. That was answer enough. 

*****

Steve was sprawled out on the bed between them, his face buried in a pillow, the blankets pulled up low on his hips. Maria ran her hand down his pale back, a smile of satisfaction on her face. 

"I think we wore him out, poor boy. Let's keep him," she said and Howard scoffed; he felt pleasantly achy and relaxed. 

"It doesn't work like that and you know it." Steve had a life, a purpose. And they were just stumbling back from the dead. "Besides, you heard him. He and Peggy's niece are friendly." 

"So you'll have three blondes in your bed instead of two," she said, leaning over Steve to kiss him. 

Howard gave her a flat stare. "Not everyone is interested in sleeping with us, sweetheart. Or sticking around after even if they do."

"Maybe you should let me decide if I wanna stay or not," Steve said in a sleepy mumble. He turned his head to Howard and opened an eye. "You two are not quiet. You're not always like this, are you?"

Howard's face warmed and he shrugged. "Maybe." 

"Bring me pancakes and eggs in the morning," Steve said, closing his eye and burying his face in the pillows again.

Howard looked up at Maria, feeling almost hopelessly happy; it was a frightening emotion. 

"We're keeping him," she mouthed and he laughed softly. 

***** 

For two days they only left the room to bring back food and water. They'd been on high alert for so long that it was a relief to let go, at least until Howard tossed himself back into the fray. 

The third morning, Maria came into the room with their breakfast and a brilliant smile on her face. Even before she opened her mouth, Howard knew what she was going to say. "We'll get to see Tony this evening."

Howard smiled back at her and did his best not to think about how horrible their reunion could turn out. 

"Tony," Steve said softly; there was an uncertain note in his voice that made Howard curious. "We need to talk about Bucky then."

Maria jerked slightly and Howard had to fight to keep his breath even and slow. He didn't want to talk about Barnes. He wanted to pretend that December night had never happened, at least for a little while longer. But Steve looked ready to push and Howard knew that Steve could be like a dog with a bone. 

"I know it's not an easy subject, but…" Steve took a deep breath and braced himself. "But Tony was gonna kill Bucky. He was gonna…" He shook his head. "I don’t want that to happen to us. We should be fighting the bad guys, not each other."

Howard didn't have much sympathy for Barnes. Not because he didn't understand the pain Barnes had gone through, but because every time he thought about the man, all he could think about was the pain and blood and the sound of Maria screaming. He did, however, feel for Steve. 

Maria must have too because she strode to his side and cupped his face. "We know, sweetheart. HYDRA played with our heads, too. When Howard figures out how to get their programming out of our heads, we'll share. But you have to understand that what happened to us is still fresh."

Steve nodded, miserably. 

"We don’t want him dead," she stated firmly and pressed a kiss to Steve's mouth. Then she hugged him and Howard was, strangely, reminded of all those times that Maria had comforted Tony when he was a boy. "Everything's going to be all right, Steve. I promise you, Howard and I will make everything all right." 

Steve shuddered and leaned into her embrace. "It feels like I've been fighting forever." 

"Well, you don't have to fight us," Howard said softly. 

"Yeah, I just had to be sure." Steve pulled away from Maria and sniffled. "I should probably be on the other side of the Helicarrier when Tony arrives."

"If that's how you want it." Maria stroked Steve's hair and frowned. "But that's hours away and we should have breakfast."

***** 

Maria kept fussing with the borrowed dress she was wearing and checking the mirror to make sure her makeup was impeccable. Howard finally went up to her, put his hands on her shoulders, and gently kissed her forehead. "You look gorgeous." 

"I just want it to be perfect." She slid her arms around his waist and carefully rested her cheek on his shoulder. "We haven't seen him in so long. What if he's angry with us for not going to him?"

"He could never be angry with you, Maria. He'll blame me." She stiffened in his arms and he just chuckled. "And that's all right. He can be angry with me. I'm used to it." 

"It doesn't make it right." Maria stepped back and looked up at him. "Promise me that you'll try to be civil. Please?" 

"I promise that I'll be civil." Howard kissed her mouth and they held each other until the door opened and a young woman entered.

"Mr. Stark, Mrs. Stark, Tony is waiting for you in the rec room," she said. "I'm here to escort you." 

Maria checked herself in the mirror one more time and Howard fought down the urge to straighten his tie. "Thank you, Alicia. Please, lead the way." 

It was a short walk to the rec room, and as they neared, Tony's voice rose in an angry flurry of words that seemed to echo around them. 

"You really expect me to believe this, Fury? Really? I mean, I knew you were a manipulative SOB, but this… this takes the cake. Do you know what'll happen when Ross realizes I've disappeared? Because I can tell you—" Tony was gesturing wildly when they entered the room, obviously agitated; Howard wondered what he had been told. 

Maria drew a sharp breath and then said Tony's name in a soft, imploring tone which stopped the torrent of words coming from their son's mouth. 

Tony did a double take, and took a few steps backward. Then he rallied and laughed bitterly. "They could be anybody," he said. "Clones or LMDs or aliens." 

Nick crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. "What? You think I didn't check them out? That I just let a couple of potential hostiles onto my ship for shits and giggles? Does that sound like me, Stark?"

Howard almost replied when he realized Nick was waiting for Tony's response. 

Tony gave Nick an insolent smile. "Well, seeing as how you're harboring a known terrorist—"

"Ha! Don't make me laugh. Rogers isn't a terrorist."

"And they aren't my parents." Tony gestured to them. "Unless you have some proof."

"I do," Maria said, striding forward until he was within arms reach. Then she leaned in and whispered into his ear. 

Howard didn't know what she said, but Tony let out a gasp, his face flushing darkly. He jerked back, eyes wide with astonishment. "How do you know that?"

"I caught you, remember?" Maria smiled up at him. Tony glanced quickly at Howard and Maria shook her head. "I promised not to tell anyone. And I didn't. Do you need more proof, Tigger?" Maria had only ever used that name around him and the Jarvises.

"Tigger?" Nick said. "God help me, I can see it." 

"M-Mom?" Tony's voice broke and the hopeful look in his eyes was painful. "Mom." He pulled her into a hug and she began to cry, clutching him tightly.

Howard hovered near the door, watching them, unsure if he should step forward or give them a moment to themselves. He felt an intruder in his own family reunion and he wanted to blame Tony for that but he knew that would be unfair. There was only one person to blame and it wasn't his son.

"My beautiful boy. You've grown up," Maria murmured. "You grew up without us. I'm so sorry, Tigger. I'm so sorry." 

"It's not your fault," Tony said. 

"It's Pierce's fault. HYDRA's fault," she responded fiercely. "If it wasn't for your father's serum, we'd be dead."

"Dad. Right." Tony pulled away just enough to give Howard a wary look. "Hey, old man." 

That was Howard's cue; he strode across the room towards his family, but stopped just short of their warm huddle. "Tony." He looked the kid over. "Are you wearing lifts?" 

Maria let out a disappointed sigh and Tony rolled his eyes. "Really? That's what you wanna talk about? That I've grown a couple of inches?"

"A couple of inches? Try half a foot!"

"I have not grown half a foot," Tony protested. "I grew an inch and a half since you two… Since… Well, anyway, I should have known something was up. Ross has had his panties in a twist for weeks." 

Howard put his hand on Tony's shoulder. "You've done a good job."

Tony's mouth fell open at his words. "I'm sorry, that last fight with Rogers must have knocked something loose in my head. Did you just praise me?"

He wasn't going to repeat himself, but he didn't need to because Tony grinned at him, which made Maria laugh and the next thing he knew, he was getting pulled into their hug by his wife.

***** 

Howard listened to Maria and Tony talk late into the night, trading shared memories, little anecdotes that would sometimes feature him, but more often than not, didn't. He finally cut short the conversation about two in the morning with a promise of a shared breakfast. 

Tony was escorted to a guest room and they shuffled off to their own bed. Steve was waiting for them, his smooth, pale skin an enticing sight after the emotionally exhausting time they just spent with their son. 

Steve eyed them critically, ordered them to undress, and then pulled them into bed with the command to sleep. Maria quickly complied, but after an hour of listening to Steve snore, Howard dressed and slipped out for a walk. 

A moment later, Tony joined him; Howard slowed his steps. 

"I couldn't sleep either," Tony said with a slight shrug. "Too much going on. So, please tell me that Rogers sneaked into your room earlier to learn how to play Parcheesi."

Howard glanced at him sharply. "You're spying on us?" 

"Wouldn't you?" Tony shot back. And what could Howard say to that? Of course he would if the shoe were on the other foot. "Is it Monopoly? You're playing Monopoly."

Howard gave Tony a flat look. "Yes, we're playing Monopoly." He put special emphasis on the last word and Tony's face scrunched up in disgust.

"Oh, God, I'm going to need to develop brain bleach. Or a way to erase mem—" The flow of words stopped suddenly and there was an awkward silence. Tony took a deep, shuddering breath. "What aren't you telling me, Dad? And don't try to gaslight me. I'm not a twenty-one year old kid anymore."

Telling Tony about the plan was a risk. Howard loved his son, but Tony could be erratic and prone to impulsive behavior. Of course, not telling him brought another set of problems. "No, you're not a kid anymore. You're a man. A hero. Which I why you have to promise me that you'll listen and won't go off half-cocked. " 

"I promise. Pinky swear," Tony said, lifting up said pinky. 

Howard was not reassured, but he thought maybe he could use the situation to his advantage. He pulled Tony into the next empty break room they came across and he told his son about their concerns and Nick's plan. Tony seemed unsurprised and Howard almost laughed. "You already suspected Ross." 

Tony raised his eyebrows. "I am a genius. And I trust men like Ross about as far as I can throw them. I learned that from you. He's good though; neither Vision nor I have found anything. I'm sure Mom loves this plan."

"It's not an awful plan." Howard shrugged and leaned back in his seat. "Besides, this is my mess to clean up."

"I think you're giving yourself too much credit."

Howard shook his head. "I wish I were. But when Peggy and I started SHIELD all those decades ago, we made compromises we shouldn’t have. We were so focused on the outcome, we didn't think about what we were doing to get there. Peggy's gone, but I owe it to her to fix this." He was quiet for a few seconds, then he said, "I owe it to you." 

"Dad." Tony looked away in discomfort. 

"I need you to take care of your mom." Howard leaned in. "She's going to be worried and anxious. I need you to be her rock." 

Tony had to know that he was being manipulated, but what could he do? It was his mother and he would do anything for her; that's what Howard was counting on. "I'll take care of her." 

"Good man," Howard said with a smile. "Now tell me about your Iron Man suits. How fast can they go?" 

***** 

Back during the early days of SHIELD, Howard had enjoyed buying obscure little properties where he'd hide booze, money, and weapons. Peggy had called him ridiculous, but over the years they had both found uses for them. Howard assumed those safe houses were compromised; Nick confirmed it. 

One such place was in San Diego. The plan was to make Ross think that he and Maria were going to raid the cache and make a run for the Mexican border. 

"Make it look good," Nick said. "Maria, I'll see you at the rendezvous point twelve hours from evasion." 

Maria nodded and offered up a smile, but Howard wasn't fooled. Once Nick left the room, Howard took her hands in his and said, "Promise me you won't get captured."

"Howard, I told you I wouldn't."

"I know you did. Now promise me." He gently squeezed her hands. "Come on, promise me." 

"I promise, all right. I promise," she said and gave him a savage kiss. "I meant what I said before, Howard. You come back to me in one piece or there will be hell to pay. Do you understand?"

"Yes, dear. I love you, too." 

***** 

Howard pulled up the collar of his jacket, slipped his hands in his pockets, and fought the urge to look around nervously. He could tell by the stiffness of Maria's stance that she was also fighting the urge to scan their surroundings. 

"Why the docks?" she asked, the darkness seemed to amplify her voice—or maybe that was just his anxiety. "You couldn't have set up the safe house in an actual house? Someplace with streetlights?" 

"Yes, let's give our enemies more targets—maybe a family of four?" Howard knew he shouldn't snap at her, but the area between his shoulder blades was itching and his instincts were telling him to run. 

"Easy, dear," she murmured, reaching over to rest a hand on his arm. "Let's just grab what we can use from that stash of yours and head south like we planned." 

Howard gave a terse nod. They moved quickly around the stacks of crates until they came to the door of their destination; warehouse 42. He reached into his pocket for his lock pick when he heard the familiar sound of a gun going off. He jerked back and Maria ducked into the shadows, scanning the area, her hand going to her weapons. 

"No," he said. "Run." 

Maria hesitated, but Ross's men fired another shot, and that seemed to change her mind. She dashed towards the water, as they'd planned. He headed further inland, running through the stacks of crates and buildings, the sound of Ross's men right behind him. Every once in awhile, someone would shoot at him, the bullets traveling close enough that he could feel the heat of them as they whizzed by. 

They wanted a chase—No, no, not a chase, he realized suddenly, there was a pattern to their movements. He almost laughed; they were herding him and all he had to do was let them. 

Of course, he wasn't going to make it easy for them. He had the serum running through his veins; they expected a fight. And besides, he didn’t want to take it easy on them. 

He toppled several crates on a group of them who had come too close, and broke a man's nose with a two by four. But they were good; damn good. He didn’t realize they were nearing the end game until right before. He could have stopped, fought his way through the growing number of men chasing him, but instead he ran towards the shadowed area between two of the warehouses and let them spring their trap.

He immediately regretted it when energy, too much energy, burned though his body like a wildfire. Electricity, he realized, as his vision went black, the taste of copper and ozone in his mouth, a terrible scream—his own—echoing through the air. 

***** 

Howard was getting sick and fucking tired of waking up in strange rooms with a pounding headache. At least this time he wasn't strapped to a chair. Although—he touched the collar, the vibranium collar, around his neck—that wasn't a welcome addition. He ignored the ache in his muscles, sat up, and looked around. Three of the walls were metal, more vibranium, as were the floor and the ceiling. The fourth was some sort of glass that allowed him to look out into an observation room.

Ross was standing there, staring at him. 

"Relations with Wakanda must have warmed considerably in the past twenty-five years," Howard said, slowly getting to his feet. "Are they giving it away so easily these days?"

Something ugly flickered across Ross's face and Howard wondered how many people had died to get this much vibranium, and if the current king of Wakanda knew about it. 

"Tell me about your serum," Ross said. He had a goddamn one-track mind.

Howard shrugged and clasped his hands behind his back so he wouldn't touch the collar. "There's nothing to tell." 

"Bullshit," Ross spat out. "The serum's in your blood. Whose formula is it? Erskine's? Zola's? Yours?" 

"I don't remember," he said with a lazy grin.

Ross flicked his hand, as if brushing away a bit of lint, and the next thing Howard knew, pain, hot and jagged, tore through his body. He collapsed on the ground, back tensing into an arc, his teeth clamping shut on his tongue. Then just as quickly, the agony was gone, leaving him trembling and twitching. 

"The next time you lie to me, I'm going to make you shit your pants."

Howard sucked in a shaky breath and after a few abortive tries, managed to get to his feet. He spat at Ross, blood from his slowly healing tongue splattering on the glass. "Go to hell." 

"I'm not Pierce, Howard. I'm not going to play games with you. Either you recreate the formula or—" 

"Or what?" Howard sneered. "Maria got away." Of that he was certain.

"For now," Ross said. "But there's still Tony." He knew that Ross was going to threaten Tony, they all did, but the rage that filled him wasn’t feigned. He lunged forward, but before he could even touch the glass, Ross pulled him up short by saying, "It's electrified. Touch it and you really will shit your pants and spend a few days in a coma."

Howard jerked back and glared at Ross. "You wouldn't dare touch Tony. He's too high profile; he's a hero. Besides, you need him."

"I think you underestimate your son's ability to piss people off." Ross made another gesture and a virtual screen popped up on the glass. On the screen was Tony, sitting at his desk, gesturing wildly as he spoke to someone off screen. "I know a number of people who would gladly give me a medal for permanently dealing with Tony Stark."

Howard fought down the urge to punch the glass anyway, electrified or not, but his better sense prevailed. Nick wouldn't let anything happen to Tony, he was sure of that. "I'm going to let Maria crack your chest open and rip your heart out."

Ross smiled. "It's always nice talking to you, Howard. Tell you what, I'll give you a couple of days and if you're still reluctant, I'll put a few bullets in your kid's kneecaps. I'll take video and you can watch the whole thing." 

Anger like he had never felt before washed over him, leaving him cold. "You touch a hair on his head and I promise you that we'll make you beg for death. We'll spend days taking you apart." 

Ross leaned in, not the least bit afraid, the idiot. "Give me the serum and he'll be fine." 

***** 

If the meal schedule was anything to go by, Howard had been in his cell for three days. He'd learned that whoever was monitoring him enjoyed using the collar—what the hell was he going to do with a plastic knife? 

At the end of the third day, the door opened and a pretty woman about Tony's age came into the room. She wore a white lab coat, her dark hair pulled up into a ponytail, and she tensed when he got to his feet. 

"If you try to attack me, you'll be severely punished," she said. And despite her wariness, he could tell she wasn't threatening him. 

"I'm not going to attack you," he said. He didn’t hit women.

She didn't look convinced, but she gave a small nod. "I didn't believe it when the General told me you were alive, but here you are."

Howard frowned and tilted his head. "Do we know each other?"

"We did." She swallowed hard and glanced up at the security camera. "Dr. Elizabeth Ross." 

"Eliz—" Howard took a step back. "Betty? My God, Betty? The last time I saw you, you were— " He was momentarily speechless. He had last seen her at her mother's funeral and she'd been small and angry and despite her father's insistence, she'd stuck by Maria the whole time. A few weeks later, Ross had shipped her off to boarding school.

"Yeah." Betty gave Howard a tired smile. 

"Karen was a good woman." She and Betty had been frequent guests at the mansion. Maria had loved Karen's easy-going nature and little Betty, in her frilly dresses, had captured her heart. God, Howard wished he could have given Maria more children.

Betty cleared her throat. "I'm here to take you to the lab. He wants me to bring you up to speed." She didn’t have to say her father's name.

"All right." Howard gestured for her to lead the way. He didn't understand what she was doing here. Betty had always had a contentious relationship with her father and from what Howard had understood, that hadn't changed. 

It was a short walk to the lab, and as soon as Howard was situated in a chair, Betty handed him a stack of notes.

"There have been a couple of attempts at recreating the serum since you've been gone," she said diplomatically. "Maybe this will help jog your memory." 

"Thank you." Howard didn't mean to stare, but he was still trying to puzzle this out. Maybe Ross offered her a chance to help Banner; Tony had said they'd been in a relationship.

"You should just ask," she said. "It's not polite to stare." 

Howard considered disassembling, but then Betty raised her eyebrows at him. "All right. Why are you doing this? Why are you helping your father recreate the serum. I thought this was his white whale."

"It is." Betty perched herself on the edge of the desk, but instead of looking at Howard, she stared at a corner of the room. "After everything that happened with Bruce, I switched focus on nano-technology. I really think it could be a way of helping people with genetic diseases, like Mom. Anyway, about three months ago, I was coming out of the lab after a very late night when I was surrounded by men with guns who told me that my father wanted to see me. I argued the point, but…" She shrugged.

"That explains why you're here, but not why you're helping him." Howard leaned in and said softly, "Does he have the Hulk?"

Betty looked down at him, incredulously, and laughed. "Not everything is about Bruce, Mr. Stark. He can take care of himself."

"But there are people who can't?" Howard asked.

"You want to see why I'm doing this? Why I've picked up a harpoon, so to speak? Fine." She worried at her bottom lip, then announced, "I'm going to show him."

No one burst into the room with a gun, so Howard guessed that was a passive sort of consent. Betty got to her feet and urged him out of the chair. Her movements were sharp, almost jerky, and Howard could see that she was angry, but not at him. She led him downstairs, through a series of gray-walled corridors, and several doors with retina scans. The retinal scan let them into a corridor full of numbered doors.

Betty walked up to door number three and paused until Howard heard a beep. She gestured for him to follow her, which he did. The door closed and locked behind them.

The brightly lit room, which reminded him of the set up with Pierce, was empty but for a cot. On the cot was a lanky, dark-haired boy not much older than fourteen. Much to Howard's horror, there was a collar around his neck. The boy sat up, wiping frantically at his face, and sniffling quietly.

"Hey, Doc," he said, offering up a tremulous smile despite his nervous glance at Howard. "You're a little early for more blood samples, aren't you?"

"I'm not here for samples today, Peter," Betty said gently. "I just wanted to introduce you to our newest researcher. Peter, this is Howard."

"Hi. Nice to meet you." Peter waved awkwardly and Howard was suddenly reminded of Tony at that age, gawky and unsure, but trying desperately to hide it behind bravado. He fidgeted slightly and said, "Did you talk to him? You know, about calling my aunt."

"Peter." For a moment, Betty looked tike she was going to cry. "I'm sorry."

"I'm all she's got since Uncle Ben died." Peter's voice shook. "She must be so worried about me. Wondering where I am, if I'm d-dead. Ask again, please? P-Please?" Tears streamed down the boy's cheeks and a moment later he began to cry in earnest.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Peter, I am so sorry." She looked like she wanted to hug him, but every few moments she'd glance up, so it probably wasn't allowed. A moment later the door clicked open and that was their cue to leave. Neither one said anything until they were back in the lab. 

"I might need to make specialized equipment," he said, settling heavily into his chair, He felt like he was going to be sick and his hands were shaking. 

"Just tell me what you need and I'll be sure you get it." 

"How old is he?" Howard asked. 

"Fifteen," Betty spat out. "He's fifteen years old. But even if he was fifty, I wouldn’t leave him here. I won't leave any of them here."

Neither would Howard. 

***** 

Howard could forgive a lot of things, but this, this was unacceptable. He set the coffee cup on the table and glared at it.

Betty laughed softly. "Sorry, I should have warned you it was decaf."

"Do you have something against caffeine, Doctor Ross?" He looked at her, his eyebrows raised because he'd never known a scientist who would allow decaf into their presence much less their laboratory. 

"I do not, Mr. Stark," she replied with a grin. "But these days caffeine makes me jumpy and when I'm jumpy, I yell. That's not good for my blood pressure. But I tell you what, I'll see if I can get us a second coffeemaker and some regular coffee."

"That would be appreciated." He began to skim through data Betty had handed him earlier. "I know this is a touchy subject…"

"But you want to know what happened to Bruce." Betty looked up from the computer screen. "Everyone wants to know that and I've cultivated a very scientific response. One that makes people's eyes glaze over. But the truth is that the General happened to Bruce. His lies, his…" She shook her head. "He's as culpable for the Hulk as Bruce, and I. More so even because he lied to us and his lies created a catastrophe."

"I'm sorry," he said softly, because he could hear the pain in her voice, the confused betrayal. 

Betty sighed. "What's done is done. Do you think the serum can help Bruce? Do you think it can cure him?"

"I don't know." Howard leaned back in his chair and considered the issue. "Erskine believed that the serum brought out one's internal qualities. Good people became better and bad became worse."

"Bruce isn't a bad person!"

"I didn't say he was. And I don’t think the Hulk is bad either. But what if the serum you created did exactly what Erskine said it would? Steve was a good man; the serum just made his outside match his inside. It was the same with Johann Schmidt. Maybe there was an unmovable force inside Bruce that no one saw."

"I saw it," she said sadly.

Howard didn't know what to say, wasn't sure how to make her smile again; Maria had always been better at that. He'd lost the knack years ago. "I'm sorry." 

"Yeah." Betty took a deep breath. "So what did the serum bring out in you?" 

"I don't know. I've been so busy trying to survive that I haven't had a chance to figure it out yet." 

***** 

At the end of the day, a guard came by to escort him back to his cell. Betty stood up, hands clenched into fists at her side, glaring. She looked like she wanted to order the man out of the room but was restraining herself. "Doctor Connors will escort you to the second lab in the morning. You'll meet the other doctors."

"Not you?" he asked. 

"No. I prefer to stay in my own lab." She looked away from the guard and sighed. "I'm sorry you're here, Mr. Stark. Nobody deserves this." 

Howard agreed. "Good night, Betty." The trip to his cell was uneventful; though he had to remind himself several times that he was there to gather facts, no matter how much he wanted to punch someone. He sat on his bed, back against the wall and closed his aching eyes. He was so damn tired; all he wanted to do was curl into a ball and hide away. He told himself he'd rest when all this was over. Maybe he'd take Maria and Tony on vacation. 

He slowly opened his eyes and wasn't surprised when he saw Ross staring at him on the other side of glass. 

"What are you doing?" he asked. "Kidnapping your own daughter, snatching kids off the street and experimenting on them; Thad, this isn't you. At least, it didn't used to be."

"That kid crawls up walls and bench presses cars." Ross scoffed. "You think because you made Captain America and fought Nazis seventy years ago that you know what's going on? Aliens came down from the sky and devastated New York. And our heroes? The Hulk destroyed Harlem; your shining pinnacle of America leaked every damn secret we had. And your kid, your kid was the worst one. He created a machine that was this close to ending the world, never mind destroying a whole damn country. I'm doing what I have to do. Don't pretend that you haven't done the same."

"I've made mistakes, a lot of them. I've crawled into bed with HYDRA and pretended that I wasn't compromising my own morals. Look how well that turned out for me. If I could go back, I'd do it differently. I'd make better choices." Howard took a deep breath. "We used to be friends, Thad. Our wives went shopping together, our kids attended each other's birthday parties—you haven't done anything we can't fix."

Ross snorted and shook his head. "You still don't get it. I'll do what I have to in order to protect the world. And you and Betty are going to help me, whether you want to or not." 

***** 

Doctor Connors showed up a few minutes after Howard had finished his breakfast: oatmeal and a glass of prune juice, which proved that Ross was even more of an asshole than Howard had thought. He glanced at the stump of Connor's arm, before looking up to see the man's mouth twisted in a wry smile.

Connors offered his left hand and Howard shook it. "It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Stark. Though I must admit, I was a bit surprised by your resurrection."

"Nothing as spectacular as that, Doc."

"Oh, I disagree. Secretary Ross showed us your medical files," Connors said. Howard wondered where Ross had found them. "You had a catastrophic brain injury that healed in a matter of months. It was extraordinary. Are there any lingering side effects? Changes in personality or missing memories?" 

There were chunks of his twenties that were a complete blank and he knew that he could read music once. His mother had taught him years ago; those memories were gone, too. "Not that I'm aware of. So what's your specialty?" 

Connors smiled and gestured for Howard to follow him. "Genetic biology. I'm… I'm looking for a way to regrow limbs. Secretary Ross found my research interesting."

Soldiers that could regrow arms and legs-- Howard bet Ross found it interesting. "That would come in handy. Unfortunately, the serum doesn't work that way."

"You know that for a fact?" 

There was something about Connors's tone that sent a chill up Howard's spine and the way the man looked him over, like a specimen under glass, made him fight the urge to take a step back. "We tested it out back in the forties. The mice never grew back their tails after we cut them off. " Erskine had kept one of them in a cage in his office, caring for the animal until it died. There was none of Erskine's kindness in Connor's eyes. 

"That's a pity. " Connors's tone lightened, but Howard wasn’t fooled. It probably hadn't taken much to get the man here.

"How many other scientists are there?" Howard asked.

"Two others."

"That's not many," he said surprised. 

Connors shrugged and glanced at Howard. "We're niche researchers. Not many scientists are ready to go beyond their small minded assumptions."

Not many researchers were ready to experiment on unwilling test subjects, more likely. That gave Howard hope for the future. "I see." 

Connors grinned at him; it was strangely reptilian. "Of course you do. You're an intelligent man." 

He offered up a less than warm smile. "I've always held my own."

"Oh, I think you'll get along just fine here." Connors hurried down the corridor and stopped at the third door on the right. He typed the numerical password into the keypad—two, six, five, one—and the lock disengaged. He opened the door and there was a crash and a string of profanity, which made him quickly close it again. He gave a strained smile. "Doctor Octavius is a volatile man. It's best we hold off on introductions until he's in a better mood."

What was behind door number two was much, much better. A pretty young woman in a white lab coat looked up from her computer and smiled—Howard had always been a sucker for blondes. "Curt, it's good to see you. And you must be Mr. Stark."

"Mr. Stark, this is Doctor Karen Beauchamp."

Doctor Beauchamp got up from her seat and rushed to shake his hand. "It's nice to finally meet you. When I was studying virology as undergrad, I read your paper on the possible tensile properties of vibranium. The next day, I went to my academic advisor and told her I wanted to double major: virology and engineering." 

"That is an interesting combination," he said. Her desk looked like his had—like every engineer's desk he'd ever seen. It was piled high with stacks of papers, notebooks, and coffee cups. Half-hidden under a sack of files was a flash drive. He ambled over to her desk, picked up a discarded cup and sniffed it. "Please tell me you have real coffee and not that decaffeinated crap." 

Beauchamp laughed and gestured to the coffee machine in the corner. "Freshly brewed."

Howard set the cup down and with his other hand, palmed the flash drive, slipping it into his pocket on the way over the coffee machine. "So are you here because of your degree in virology or engineering?" 

"Both." There was slight pause, and then Beauchamp said, "I used to work for AIM before… before everything went to hell. I assisted Maya Hansen in creating nanotechnology that would enhance the human body."

AIM, the bastards that tried to kill Tony. 

There was a cup next to the coffee machine. He filled it to the brim with coffee and sipped it slowly, letting the caffeine reinvigorate him. 

"Would you let me have a sample of your blood, Mr. Stark?" she asked, and suddenly the coffee tasted like mud. "I tried numerous times to obtain a sample of Captain Rogers's blood, but…" She shrugged. "Yours would be just as good." 

Great, just, great. He was beginning to see why Betty steered clear of them. 

***** 

One of the advantages of having been a weapons manufacturer for over forty years meant that Howard needed very little to create a WMD, and since Ross didn't know what Howard needed to recreate the serum, he was able to sneak in some very dangerous ingredients. He could make enough nitramene to destroy the place a dozen times over if he chose to. Which he didn't; he had promised Maria to come home in one piece, after all. 

So instead of building bombs, he leaned over a beaker, and walked the precarious line between failure and genius. He had to convince Betty that he was making a good faith effort in his experimentation without actually succeeding. 

"Do you want my sandwich?" Betty asked, sidling up to him and holding out said sandwich, a look of disgust on her face. She'd been nursing a stomach bug for the past week and Howard supposed the tuna made her nauseated. 

His stomach growled—he'd been working for several hours and he was at a place where he could stop for a bit—so he pulled off his gloves and took the sandwich from her hands. "Still feeling queasy? Maybe you should have one of the doctors take a look at you."

"No," she said firmly. "I don't want them near me." 

He couldn't blame her; he didn't want them touching him either. He walked over to his desk and sat down. "I'd take a look, but wetware isn't exactly my forte." 

She grimaced at him, then peered down at his notes. "I'd prefer someone who didn't call biology 'wetware'." 

"Not to mention someone with a medical degree," he pointed out before taking a bite of the sandwich. 

"That, too." 

Her hovering was making him nervous and he wished he'd brought his notes over to the desk with him. But he couldn't exactly walk over and snatch them away; they were supposed to be working together. Instead, he swiveled his chair around to look at the framed poster hanging on the wall behind him. 

He wasn't much for abstracts, but if he angled himself just so, he could see what Betty was doing in the reflection on the glass. That's when he saw her pass her hand over the top of the beaker. Had she just added something to the chemicals? He wanted to rush over and check, but he wasn't ready to give the game away. A moment later, she walked back to her desk.

Nothing happened while he finished his sandwich. It wasn't until he tried adding the formula to amino acids that everything went to hell; they had to evacuate the lab for the next two days. 

That gave Howard time to do some planning.

***** 

Once was an accident, twice a coincidence, but three times was a pattern. Especially since the experiments he was running were ones he'd done a million times while recreating the serum. They shouldn’t have blown up in his face that way and the only common denominator, other than himself, was Betty. 

Of course, if he were wrong, he'd give the game away. He wasn't sure it was worth it. 

***** 

Betty had spent most of the morning kneeling in front of the toilet, sick to her stomach—Howard could hear her retching. So when she came out, shaky and pale, talking about how she had to get blood samples from Peter, he gave a resounding no. 

"You look like you're ready to collapse. Why don't you rest for awhile, maybe talk to your father about bringing in a doctor," he said, deliberately letting his concern show.

Betty shook her head, but sat down at her desk. "I don't need a doctor, but I think I will let you see Peter. I'll have one of the guards take you. Let him know that I'm sorry and that I'll see him in a few days. "

"I will," Howard smiled. "Would you like me to collect samples from any of the others?" He knew there were more subjects than Peter, but he'd never met any of them. Connors often talked about a young woman with the ability to shape shift and Beauchamp said she'd once met a man who could start fires with just a thought. 

"Just Peter," she said firmly. 

"All right." He tried not to show his disappointment—he needed more allies here, in case Betty wasn't the type of person he thought she might be. "Go rest, maybe see if someone can rustle up some ginger ale."

"I will." She made a quick phone call and a few minutes later, a heavily armed guard showed up to escort him to Peter's cell. 

The boy was sitting cross-legged on the floor, shuffling a deck of cards in his hands when Howard came in. He glanced nervously at the guard until they were alone, then said, "Where's Doc?"

"She wasn't feeling well, so I offered to help her out. Do you mind if I sit?" Howard gestured to the bed and after a moment's hesitation, Peter nodded. 

"It's nothing serious, is it?" Peter asked, edging away from Howard, trying to be subtle. 

"Just a stomach bug." Howard sat on the bed and opened the case with all the implements needed to draw blood. "I hear you can climb walls."

Peter froze, eyes wide, face pale; he looked like a rabbit that'd caught the scent of a wolf. "I…" He shook his head frantically. "No." 

"Hey," Howard said softly, "it's all right. You think you're the only one in this room who's special?"

"What do you mean?" Peter swallowed hard. 

Howard didn't know if he was supposed to say, but he needed the kid to know that they were on the same side. "I created a serum that made me fast and strong; they want me to make more."

"But you don't want to." The boy glanced at the collar around Howard's neck, then reached out to gently touch his.

"I don't have much of a choice."

Peter wiped his nose on his shirt. "My Uncle Ben used to say everyone has choices, it's just that sometimes the choices are crap."

Howard laughed softly. "He sounded like a wise man."

"He was." The boy hunched his shoulders and looked down at his hands. "He's why I was out there. He died a few months ago, right after I got my abilities. He used to say that you had to stick up for people who wouldn't stick up for themselves. So I…" Peter's voice shook so badly he couldn't get out the rest and a moment later he began to cry.

Howard reached out a tentative hand and rested it on Peter's shoulder. "He'd be proud of you. You know that, don’t you? So proud that you took your gifts and did good in the world. That's all a parent really wants for their kid. For them to do good and be happy." 

"I miss him." Peter covered his face.

"I know." Howard took a deep breath and squeezed Peter's shoulder. "It's going to be all right, Peter. It'll all work out in the end, I promise." He'd get Peter out of here safely, even if he had to move heaven and earth to do it.

***** 

When Howard and Maria were dating—and still trying to hide it from SHIELD—Maria would leave him little notes on his desk using ciphers. Some of them had been horribly easy, while others had taken days to parse out, but he found he had an affinity for them. 

Betty was an intelligent woman and he thought that maybe, just maybe, she'd understand what he was trying to do. He only hoped that she would be willing to help him when she figured it out. 

After some thought, he decided that the affine cipher was his best bet for what he was trying to do. Complicated enough that not just anyone would be able to tell what he was doing, but not so complicated that she couldn’t figure it out. 

He gave her the first message at the end of the day, when they were headed back to his cell. "Will you take a look at my notes? I think I'm getting close to where I need to be with the serum, but a fresh set of eyes never hurt." 

"All right," she said, taking the notebook. "I'll let you know what I think tomorrow." 

Howard nodded and offered her a smile. "Good night, Betty." He hoped he wouldn’t wake up to Ross standing over his bed with a weapon.

"Good night, Howard." 

***** 

Howard's heart sank when a guard came to pick him up the next morning. He wondered what sort of punishment Ross had in mind. Would he use the collar? Or would Howard's punishment be more imaginative, the way Pierce's had been. He gritted his teeth, hands clenched, ready to fight—because dammit, he would fight—when the time came. But the guard, strangely, only led him to the lab he and Betty shared. 

There was only Betty in the room when he walked in and she was sitting at the microscope. She hadn't even looked up when he entered the room. "You're right; you're really close to a breakthrough, but I don't think the enzyme you want to enhance is stable enough. I scribbled out a few notes; they're on your desk." 

"Okay." Howard walked over to his desk and settled into his chair. He gave her a wary look, but she was intent on her work. It took him an hour to parse out the type of cipher she'd used, but once he had, it was easy to decode.

His message to her yesterday had been simple: _"help me."_

Betty's response was a terse, _"how?"_

***** 

The messages they sent to each other had to be short, but his time at SHIELD had taught him to be concise in his language. 

_"Need evidence,"_ he wrote. 

The next day she slipped him a flash drive and gave him a cheeky grin and a message that said, _"Now what?"_

 _"Get ready,"_ he replied.

_"For?"_

He knew she would ask it and he wondered if this were a trap. It would be just like Ross to use Betty this way and it wasn’t as if Howard knew her very well. Or at all. Peggy had told him once, long ago, after a mission gone wrong, that sometimes in spy work you had to trust people you might not otherwise trust. Sometimes that trust got you a bullet in the back. But other times, other times people surprised you. You didn’t always know which way it would go. Take the leap, she'd told him, but have a gun ready just in case.

Betty asked him again, _"Get ready for?"_

He responded with one word: _"SHIELD._

***** 

The hammer didn't fall immediately; he wished that were a comfort. 

Then Betty did something that surprised him. 

"Howard, would you mind taking a look at some of the equipment I modified the other day? I'm not much for electronics; I want to make sure it's not going to explode in my face."

"That's half the fun," he said and she laughed. He finished up his notes for the day, then went over to her desk where several items were laid out. The first two were electron microscopes she'd modified to give them a higher magnification and resolution. The third item looked like a hand-held scanner, but not one he'd ever seen before. He grabbed a screwdriver and opened it up.

His heart hammered in his chest and it took every ounce of his willpower not to gasp; it was an EMP. The damn thing would fry every piece of equipment in a twenty-yard radius. 

"What do you think?" Betty asked, standing next to him, smiling.

Howard offered up his own grin. "I think this will be very useful." 

***** 

Howard had always gone for the big explosions; it was part and parcel for the nature of his work. But this environment called for subtlety. He needed small, contained explosions that could take out a door and not the person behind it. Which meant a slight variation of his liquid nitramene as well as smaller EMPs—he didn't want to take out Tony's absolutely gorgeous suit by mistake. 

With Betty's help they were able to create a nice little stockpile of weapons all under Ross's nose. Howard took more than a little delight in that. 

***** 

They spent long days in the lab and if it weren't for the circumstances, Howard might have enjoyed himself. It was interesting work and Betty was a beautiful, intelligent woman. 

Maybe someday when this was just a distant memory, he'd convince Tony to hire her—Maria would like that, too. 

Betty touched his shoulder and laughed softly when he started. "Okay, I think it's time to call it a night. Your mind is obviously elsewhere and I'm exhausted. Come on, I'll walk you back to your cell." 

Howard stretched and murmured in agreement. He didn’t tire much, but that didn't mean he couldn't use the rest. They put away their tools, then headed towards his cell. The corridor was empty and the lights were dim; it was peaceful. 

And then it wasn't. 

The alarms went off and the lights in the corridor flared to life; he flinched. He almost struck out when Betty grabbed his arm and gestured back towards the lab. He wanted to stay, to see what was going on—he didn't think it was Nick, but it was _something_ \-- but after a moment, he nodded. He needed to make sure that Betty was safe.

He put his arm around her, and that was probably the only thing that saved her when the door ahead on their right exploded outward into the corridor. Howard was able to shield her with his body.

They both coughed violently as plaster filled the air.

"What the hell—" Betty started to say, but the rest was swallowed up by a reptilian growl that made Howard's skin crawl. 

He turned and gasped when he saw what looked like something out of a pulp sci-fi novel: a lizard man wearing the shredded remains of what looked like a lab coat, that ugly purple and yellow tie that Connors favored around its neck. 

"Doctor Connors?" Betty said, her voice high-pitched, eyes wide with fear.

The beast turned towards them and let out a roar and Betty curled in on herself, arms wrapped around her midsection. Something inside of Howard seemed to click, the final piece to a puzzle he didn't realize he was looking for. The beast looked ready to lunge so Howard rushed it, grunting when he collided with it and they both tumbled to the ground. 

Two things happened then, the beast's claws dug into his shoulders and the guards finally decided to get off their asses and do their damn jobs. They poured into the area with shock weapons, masks on their faces so they could deploy some sort of gas that Howard hoped would take down what used to be Connors.

They hit it with a Taser and it screamed—Howard's mouth opened in a gasp and the only reason he didn't pass out was because it flung him away into the wall. He groaned, his whole body on fire, but he knew he couldn't stay where he was. He gathered enough strength to get to his knees when something grabbed the back of his shirt. He was too weak to fight, but he tried jerking away.

"Stop it," Betty said, pulling him towards a supply closet. She got the door closed behind them and settled on the floor next to him with a shaky laugh. 

The room smelled of bleach and was lit by a single light bulb. Howard didn't know whether to laugh or cry. 

Betty hissed and touched his arm. "You're bleeding." 

"I'm doing better than Connors." Then he remembered Betty curled in on herself, looking pale and afraid. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not the one who's bleeding. There should be some alcohol around here." She moved to stand up but he grabbed her by the arm.

"You shouldn't be here."

"None of us should be here, Howard." Betty jerked, trying to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her. 

He put his other hand on her stomach and he felt what the lab coat and her baggy t-shirts had managed to hide from everyone. There was a slight curve to her belly; she couldn't be more than three or four months along. "You shouldn’t be here." 

She shoved his hand away. "I have bandages in the lab. Once they subdue Doctor Connors, I'll patch you up." 

***** 

It wasn't long before they took down Connors. Despite Howard's healing wounds and the insistence of the guards, Betty took Howard back to the lab. She cleaned his wounds and bandaged him up, then took out a bottle of Scotch. He raised his eyebrows at her, but all she said was, "A sip won't hurt." 

Howard supposed not.

That night they slept in the lab and in the morning they woke to Ross flinging open the door, looking frantic and disheveled. "Betty, are you all right?" He looked like he wanted to go to her, but the look Betty gave him forestalled that. 

"I'm fine, General," she said, her voice cold.

And Howard knew now how he'd get the information out to Nick. He laughed softly, bitterly, and got to his feet, drawing Ross's attention. "Like you care." 

"Shut the hell up, Howard, this is none of your business." 

"None of my business? You made it my business when you imprisoned me here, Ross." Howard walked over and got into Ross's face. "And here I thought I was a crappy dad, but you, you take the cake."

"Howard," Betty said in warning, but he ignored her. 

"She shouldn't be here, not in her state. She needs fresh air, healthy food, sunlight!" Howard gestured to her; he'd apologize later, if they ever saw each other again. "At least a doctor."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ross glanced at Betty who was giving Howard an imploring look.

"She's pregnant, you ass!" 

"What?" Ross staggered back as if Howard hit him. "Betty?" 

She crossed her arms and looked away.

"Is it Banner's?" he asked. 

"Why?" Betty glared at him and touched her belly. "So you can dissect it?" 

Ross's eyes widened and he stared at her, horrified. "No!" 

"He's not the father. Not everything is about Bruce, Dad. I have a boyfriend. A boyfriend who is probably worried sick about me." Betty's voice shook and there were tears in her eyes. 

Howard took the opportunity to grab the flash drive while they were distracted. He knew Ross, he knew how much the man loved his daughter. He also knew that a grandkid changed everything. 

"Howard's right, you shouldn't be here." Ross looked around the room. "After what happened with Connors—there's a plane that can take you home right now."

"Right now?" Betty shook her head and that's when Howard stepped in. 

He grabbed Betty's hands, passing the flash drive to her. "He's right, you should go now, Betty. For the baby."

She wanted to protest, but if they could get that information to SHIELD everyone's nightmare would be over and she knew it. "You're right."

"Hey, maybe when this is all over, you can work for Tony. Or at least talk to him about funding. He's got that great new foundation." 

Betty laughed. "Howard, I like you, but your son is a jerk." 

Howard shrugged. "What can I say, he comes by it honestly. But, you know, he's got a bit of his mom in him, too. And she's pretty amazing."

"Maybe, when this all over." She kissed his cheek. "Take care of Peter for me." 

"I will," he said. He might have said more but Ross was getting impatient. 

"Do you need anything from your room?" Ross asked, as he led her out of the lab. 

Howard didn't hear her reply. He walked over to where Betty had left the bottle of Scotch and poured himself a generous helping. His hand shook slightly and he hoped to God that Betty got that information to Tony without being caught. 

***** 

With Betty gone, it was left up to him to draw Peter's blood, which was fine. He wasn’t sure if the boy had seen any of the other prisoners, but even if he hadn't he needed to know that something was going on. Betty had been gone for a few days and Howard figured that SHIELD would make its play sooner rather than later. Especially if Maria had any say. 

So on the appointed day, Howard grabbed the case with the needles and sample tubes and was escorted to Peter's cell. 

The boy looked disappointed when Howard entered the room, but he put up a brave front. "Doc still sick?" he asked with a smile.

Howard frowned: Peter was pale and too thin. When was the last time the boy saw the sun or breathed fresh air? "No, actually, she's gone." At Peter's horrified look, Howard continued hastily, "She was sent home. It turns out that she's pregnant. Not even Ross is enough of a monster to want his grandkid born in this place."

"Oh." Peter took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Good, I'm glad. Do you think she'll be able to tell my aunt that I'm okay?"

"Probably not," Howard said gently. He sat down on the bed next to the boy and opened the case, taking out the needle and a packaged alcohol swab. "You know the drill, kiddo." 

Peter nodded and held out his arm. "I'm tired." 

"I know." A kid his age shouldn't look that world-weary; he shouldn't look like his life had ended.

Howard wrapped some tubing around Peter's arm, swabbed the inside of his elbow, then leaned in and said very softly, barely moving his lips, "Be ready."

The boy glanced sharply at him, mouth opening as if to ask a question; that’s when Howard slid the needle into his arm, a little more roughly than necessary. Peter winced, but he didn’t ask any questions. 

***** 

Every day was a little tougher to stomach after Betty left. He could feel the tension in his shoulders, the fear making each breath a struggle. What if something happened to Betty? What if she wasn’t able to get to Tony? What if Ross had found Nick?

What ifs plagued Howard every moment of the day and left him feeling brittle and old. 

What if they never rescued him? 

What if?

***** 

The lights in the lab flicked. Howard lifted his head from the book he was reading and frowned. When the lights did it again, his pulse jumped and he fought back a grin. This was it; it had to be.

A moment later, the door opened and one of the guards that patrolled the area since Connors turned himself into a man-sized lizard popped his head into the room. "Stay here." 

"What's going on?" he asked, trying not to appear excited.

"If you try to leave, I'll fry your brain." The guard closed the door and Howard heard the click of the lock. 

That settled it. 

Howard knew he should hold tight; Maria's first priority would be to find him and free him. Waiting would be the safest recourse. Of course, in the time it took for Nick to take over the facility, Ross's men could destroy all the evidence, not to mention kill all the people they were using as their own personal guinea pigs. He'd promised Betty he'd watch over Peter. 

And besides, he had all these lovely explosives; wouldn't it be nice to blow up a few things? The lights cut out and a few seconds later the red emergency lights turned on. 

Fuck it.

Howard went to his desk, took out one of the small EMPs he'd made, and triggered it. The lights blew out and the collar sent a painful shock through his body. His knees buckled and he caught himself with his hands as he hit the floor, his mouth opening in a silent scream. But just as quickly as it had raced through his body, it was gone, and he was left panting on the cold floor, his muscles spasming. 

He rubbed his arms and legs with his shaking hands until the spasms subsided, then he wrapped his fingers around either side of the locking mechanism and pulled, grunting with effort. Vibranium was strong, but expensive, and he hoped they used an alloy to make the collar. After some effort, the catch gave. He took it off and flung it away, his body limp with relief. He hadn't realized how much it cost him to have that thing around his neck. 

Howard sat there in the darkness, his breath coming in shallow pants, the magnitude of what he'd been through weighing heavily on him. Again, he considered just staying where he was until the others found him. He quickly dismissed the thought and forced himself to stand up and make his way to the worktables. He turned on a few of the Bunsen burners, allowing him see well enough to move around the room and gather up what he needed: the rest of the EMPs, the modified nitramene capsules, and a crowbar he had used to open a few crates the other day. 

When he had what he needed, he turned off the Bunsen burners—the last thing he needed was to burn himself to a crisp—then threw the nitramene towards the door. He ducked behind a desk, hoping desperately that he hadn't screwed up the formula, because he could easily wind up taking out half the damn room along with the door. 

There was a flash of light and heat, then the sound of metal crumpling. The wan light from the corridor entered the room and he smiled. 

Damn, he was good. 

"Hey, what the hell did you do?" The guard raced into the room.

Howard went on autopilot, throwing another capsule of nitramene. People weren't made to crumple the way metal did and when all was said and done, there was nothing left of the man but a smear on the floor. It was a pity that Howard hadn't been able to grab his gun first. 

He grabbed the crowbar and his bag of tricks and headed out. The corridor was empty, which had to mean that Nick had brought SHIELD's best and brightest. As he made his towards the prisoners, he used the crowbar to smash the keypads of the other labs—he didn't want Beauchamp or Octavius trying to escape. 

He slowed when he came to the corridor that would take him to the cells and peeked around the corner. There were two guards stationed at the door and Howard briefly considered using the nitramene again. He quickly dismissed the thought. He needed a goddamn gun. 

He took a deep breath; he'd have to use the element of surprise and his aim with the crowbar; one of the guards wasn't wearing his helmet. He backed up a bit, counted to three, then rounded the corner at a run. He threw the crowbar at the guard without the helmet and moved sharply to the left as they shot at him, wincing when a bullet grazed his arm. The crowbar hit the unhelmeted guard's face and the man's shriek ended in a sickening gurgle. 

Howard quickly closed the gap with the other guard, tackling him around the middle. They both fell, grappling with the gun. The guard was strong, but Howard had the serum running through his veins. He wrested the gun away and then wrapped his fingers around the man's neck, squeezing until he stopped moving. 

He wiped his hands on his pants, grabbed the guns, and tried the keypad but his code didn't work. Ah, well. It had been worth a shot anyway. He wished he'd made more nitramene—he was running out, but he supposed that couldn’t be helped. With the outer door, it took two capsules to get to Peter, who looked at him wide-eyed, mouth open in shock when the door crumpled into a little ball. 

"Howard! What was that?" 

"No time," he said, pulling out an EMP. "This is gonna hurt." He triggered it before the kid could ask any more question and looked on in sympathy when Peter's body arched in pain. 

"Ow," Peter said shakily.

Howard laughed and knelt beside the boy. "Yeah, I know. Here, let me get this off you." With Peter's help, he was able to get the collar off more quickly. 

Peter rubbed his neck and kicked the collar away with disgust. "What's going on, Howard?" 

"My friends are here to save us. I was a bit concerned that Ross and his men might try getting rid of the evidence." 

"Are we getting the others out, too?" 

"Yes. Can you use a gun?" When Peter shook his head, Howard rubbed the bridge of his nose. "All right, then your job is to run and hide if trouble comes our way."

"I can still help." Peter crossed his arms and pouted and Howard was once again reminded of Tony at fifteen. 

"I want you safe," he said. "Your aunt needs you safe."

The pout grew more pronounced, but the sigh Peter gave told Howard that he'd won the argument. 

Howard gently ruffled Peter's hair until the boy rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Come on, let's free the rest of the prisoners." 

"Okay," Peter said, squaring his shoulders, a determined look on his face. 

He used up the rest of the nitramene getting the other five prisoners free. None of them were as young as Peter, and he was grateful for that, but their hollow-eyed stares sent a fresh wave of anger toward Ross. 

"Can any of you use a gun?" he asked.

A pretty little blonde with murder in her eyes stepped forward. "I can."

"Good." He handed her a weapon. "You can stay here or you can find someplace else to hole up; it's up to you. Just don't shoot the people trying to save you; they'll have SHIELD patches on their uniforms." 

"I thought SHIELD were the bad guys," she said.

"Not this time, not anymore." Howard took a deep breath. "You don't have to trust them if you don't want to, but we're in the middle of the ocean and unless you can fly or turn into a fish, they're your only way out. "

She raised her eyebrows. "What about you?" 

"I'm going to make sure the man who hurt us doesn't do it again."

"All right." She nodded her head at him. "Good hunting." 

"Be safe." He turned and headed out of the room, Peter following him. "No way, kid. You have to stay here." 

"I can help you, Howard. I’m strong. I… I'm a superhero." Peter was so earnest and so damn young; Howard just wanted to wrap him up and hide him away. 

"I know you can and I know you are, Peter. That's why I need you to stay here and protect these people." He stopped and looked at the boy. 

Peter's shoulders were hunched and his bottom lip was trembling; he was afraid. "Who's gonna protect you?"

"I can protect myself." Howard reached over and gently squeezed Peter's shoulder. "Please, stay here and protect these people. They need you." And he needed for Peter not to see what he was going to do to Ross. "I'll be okay, I promise." 

Peter surged forward and Howard let out a surprised yelp when the boy hugged him. "Okay."

He hugged back, briefly, then gently pushed him away. "I'll see you when this is all over."

"Okay." Peter rubbed his nose with the back of his hand. 

Howard offered up a smile before heading out, gun in hand. He could hear the faints sounds of gunfire and… was that Tony? He ignored his instincts and followed the sound, curling away and shielding his face when the door a yard ahead of him blew open. He heard the sounds of metal hitting metal as Tony walked towards him, hands held out in front of him, repulsors shining like a beacon of hope.

"It's about damn time," Howard said. 

"What? No 'thank you'?"

He snorted "For what?"

"Saving your life." Tony lifted the faceplate and raised his eyebrows. "Your arm's bleeding." 

"My arm's fine. It's practically healed." He moved his arm to show Tony, ignoring the pain that flared up. "And I didn't need saving. Where's your mom?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Last time I saw her, she was shooting up the landing bay with Cap and Falcon. You know, once this is over, we're going to have a long overdue talk about what Mom did before she married you." 

"Those are your mom's secrets to tell." He lifted his gun and shot at the guards coming their way. "And right now you need to keep moving. I have half a dozen prisoners who need a safe way out of here." 

"Peter?" Tony closed his faceplate and without looking shot at the guards, quickly taking out the ones Howard hadn't got to; show off. 

"How the hell do you know Peter? You know what, later. " Right now was not the time. "Yes, Peter's that way. Now move! I'm going to find your mom." 

"Don't die. She'll be sad." Tony called out. 

***** 

Howard was not a soldier, not a spy, not an agent, but he'd grown up on the Lower East Side and had been in his fair share of neighborhood melees. No one fought dirtier than a child with a grudge. He waded into the fight with his fists and his gun. Even with the serum, he felt battered and tired and all he wanted to do was find Maria and finish it.

Howard punched one of the guards in the gut, and when he doubled over, grabbed his head and twisted sharply, letting the body drop to the ground before moving to the next fight. He was methodical and quick; he could tell that the fight was winding down. Ross's men were no match for Nick's, even without the Avengers. Besides, Nick had numbers on his side.

He took a moment to scan the area, he still hadn't found Maria, and the worry was enough to let his guard down. He heard the sound of heavy boots behind him and he tensed, ready for another fight. 

"Easy, Howard." Steve put a hand on his shoulder and Howard sighed, leaning into Steve's touch. 

"Jesus." He turned and did a slight double take. Steve wasn't wearing his Cap uniform, but he wasn't wearing SHIELD BDUs either. Instead he opted for a pair of black jeans and a white t-shirt with a flak jacket over it. And the shield was painted a muted grey. "Dressing down these days?" 

Steve ignored his comment. "Looks like they got everything under control here." He reached over and wiped under Howard's nose. "You're bleeding." 

"So are you." Howard gestured to Steve's knuckles; Steve just shrugged. "Have you seen Maria?" 

"Not for awhile, but she's been yakking my ear off." Steve touched the comm in his ear. "She's worse than Tony." 

Howard snorted. "Yeah. Where is she?"

"She said you should meet her back at your lab and you should hurry." Steve gave him a knowing look. "Howard, we need Ross alive." 

"I know," he said. 

Steve frowned and kissed him on the mouth. "I love you. Be careful." 

"Yeah, I…" His face went hot. "I know." 

"Here." Steve handed him a gun and gently pushed him away. "You can never have too many, right? Now you better hurry. She gets loud when you don't listen to her right away." He winced and pulled the comm out of his ear. "She's gonna get me for that." 

"Yup," he said with a smile and headed back to his old haunts. 

The way was littered with bodies, blood splattering the walls and pooled on the floor. He should have asked Steve about Peter and the others, he realized. He should have made sure they were okay. Maybe Maria knew; she was good about making sure he had the information he needed. 

His heart began to race as he neared his lab and his breath came fast and hard, like he'd been running for a long time. He wanted to leave, to get off this damn prison and never look back. But there was one more thing left to do, so he forced himself to walk back into the lab, which Maria had helpfully lit with a few flashlights. 

She was sitting on one of the worktables, her gun pointed at Ross, who was writhing on the floor, cursing loudly at Maria. She had shot his kneecaps. When he came closer, she took out the comm in her ear and broke it. "It's about time you got here." She glanced at him. "You're bleeding, dear."

"I'm fine," he said, knowing that's what she wanted to know. "I'm just ready to get out of here. You all right?"

"Yes. Just cleaning up one last loose end. I thought you might want to do the honors." Maria gestured to Ross.

"You can't do this," Ross said. "You need me alive. I have names, I have-" 

"Shut up, Thaddeus, before I shoot you in the knees again," Maria said. "The only reason why I'm not taking you apart limb by limb is because Karen was one of my best friends."

Ross glared at her. "Bitch."

Howard kicked his knee, making Ross yowl in agony. "Don’t you ever call my wife that again. Now keep your fucking mouth shut before I kick in your teeth."

"I could let him live." Maria glanced questioningly at Howard. 

"He threatened Tony," he said softly, knowing that would seal Ross's fate.

"Don't." Ross tried to scoot away. "D—" 

Maria shot him twice in the head, then she holstered her gun, hopped off the table and pulled Howard into a fierce kiss. "Everything's going to be all right now," she promised when they broke apart.

He nodded and put his arm around her waist. "Let's get out of here. I need a hot shower and a warm bed."

***** 

The sun was shining after days of rain and a pleasant breeze came off the ocean, ruffling Howard’s hair. It was nice to finally be able to spend some time outdoors after weeks being debriefed by every security agency in the US. There was still a lot to clean up and many unanswered questions—SHIELD still didn't have definitive proof of who killed Ross, and they never would— but that would have to wait until Howard and Maria got back to New York. He liked San Francisco, and Nick did his best to make their stay at the SHIELD base as comfortable as possible, but Howard was ready to leave.

He looked around at all the people lingering at the dock; everyone he loved was right here with him: Maria and Tony were having a lively conversation with Nick and Hank, Steve was standing awkwardly next to a confident looking Sharon. 

Peter was back with his aunt and Betty had agreed to work for Tony; life was good.

Howard turned to the man standing next to him and said, “You should come work for me.” 

“Me?” Luis grinned, and bounced on the balls of his feet. “Thanks, but who would keep Scotty out of trouble?”

The answer didn’t surprise him; he handed Luis one of Tony’s cards. “If you change your mind, give me a call. We could use more people like you, Luis. And if you’re ever in the neighborhood, look us up. We shouldn’t be too hard to find. Evidently our name is on the building.” 

Luis laughed and shook Howard’s hand. “I will. Now I better take Mr. Pym home; he looks like he’s ready to start yelling. I’ve got strict instructions from his daughter that I have to take him straight home when he gets like this.”

“All right,” Howard said. “Thank you for everything.”

“Hey, anyone would've done the same.”

That wasn’t true, not at all, but he smiled at Luis and said his goodbyes. Howard tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the sun on his face. He didn’t open his eyes until he heard someone drive up.

An agent climbed out of a black Acura MDX and tossed a set of keys at Howard. “As you requested, sir.”

“Perfect. Thank you, Harrison.” Howard rubbed his thumb against the key fob—it was engraved with a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Tony walked over, Maria trailing behind him, and said, “That’s gonna be a little difficult to get on the plane.”

“We’re not flying home.” Howard lifted his eyebrows at Maria, who smiled at him. “Your mom and I really didn’t have a chance to see much of the country while we were driving through it. I thought maybe she might like a vacation. Besides,” he raised his voice, “I don’t think Steve’s ever seen the Grand Canyon.” 

“I haven’t,” Steve called out, offering Sharon one more awkward look before drifting over to them. 

Tony groaned. “A family road trip? Are you kidding me? I’m a busy man, you know. I run a multibillion dollar company while being a much beloved superhero.”

“Tigger, please?” Maria touched his arm and looked imploringly at Tony.

“That’s not fair,” Tony said. “That’s not fair at all. Oh, God, fine. Fine, I’ll take this disaster of a trip with you. But I’m driving.” He tried to grab the keys, but Howard was faster.

“Oh, no, you’re not.” Howard put the keys behind his back. Tony tried taking them again and Howard took a few steps away from him.

“For a centenarian, you’re being very childish.”

“It’s bad enough I had to teach you how to drive. I’m not going through that again. Hey!” Howard spun around and glared at Steve who had the keys in his hands.

“I’ll drive,” Steve said.

“No, you won’t.” Howard held out his hand. “You’re worse than Tony. How many jeeps did you crash?”

Steve held the keys over his head. “That was seventy years ago and there were people shooting at me. I’m a better driver now.” 

“Hand them over, Spangles.” Tony jumped, trying to get the keys as they dangled from Steve’s fingers.

Howard was about to join the fray when he heard Maria begin to laugh. He turned toward her; her eyes were shining with mirth, her hands clasped over her mouth. He hadn’t seen her this happy in years. He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. “I love you,” he said.

She took a deep breath, letting her hands fall to his shoulders and brushed her lips to his.

“Gross. Dad can drive if it means I don’t have to watch the two of you make out in the back seat.” 

“I love you, too,” she murmured against his mouth, then deepened the kiss. 

There was still so much left to do; there would be trials and depositions, and he still wanted to check in on Isaiah, but for the moment, he allowed himself to take a breath and relax.


End file.
